Owens v. Scafati, Civ. Misc. No. 67-39.

Decision Date13 September 1967
Docket NumberCiv. Misc. No. 67-39.
PartiesEdward F. OWENS, Petitioner, v. Palmer C. SCAFATI, Superintendent, Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Walpole, Respondent.
CourtU.S. District Court — District of Massachusetts

Chester C. Paris, Boston, Mass., for petitioner.

Elliot L. Richardson, Atty. Gen. Commonwealth of Mass., Brian E. Concannon, Spec. Asst. Atty. Gen., for respondent.

OPINION

CAFFREY, District Judge.

This is a petition for a writ of habeas corpus brought by Edward F. Owens, presently an inmate of the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Walpole, against Palmer C. Scafati, Superintendent of the Institution.

The petition recites that Owens was found guilty after a jury trial in Suffolk Superior Court and that concurrent sentences were imposed on March 12, 1965 for the crimes of armed robbery and assault with a dangerous weapon. The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts affirmed the convictions in an opinion handed down on April 28, 1966, Commonwealth v. Owens, 350 Mass. 633, 216 N.E.2d 411. On October 26, 1966 a single justice of the Supreme Judicial Court dismissed a petition for a writ of error. The petition alleges that the convictions resulted from the admission in evidence of certain property illegally seized from petitioner since the search warrants on the basis of which the seizure was made were issued without probable cause. The petition further alleges that the warrants did not particularly describe the articles to be searched for and did not particularly describe the place to be searched. The seized articles consisted of a .32 cal. nickel-plated revolver, a .32 cal. pistol, 8 rounds of .32 cal. ammunition, a clip, a deposit bag marked "Shawmut Bank B-13," and approximately $3,200 in currency. The petition alleges that available State court remedies have been exhausted.

The matter came before the Court on the basis of the respondent's motion to dismiss. At the hearing on this motion counsel filed four volumes of transcript consisting of the entire Superior Court record of the actual trial and also the record of a pre-trial hearing on defendant's motions to suppress, which motions were denied.

There is no merit to the contention that the warrants were issued without probable cause. Prior to obtaining the warrants the police officers had been informed by one Gerald Mackin that two of the Owens brothers had taken part with him in the holdup of the Gas Company that morning and that they lived at 1 Thomas...

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19 cases
  • US v. Maneti, Cr. 90-67L.
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Western District of New York
    • December 18, 1991
    ...with appurtenances to the main dwelling), cert. denied, 409 U.S. 1113, 93 S.Ct. 927, 34 L.Ed.2d 696 (1973). Finally, in Owens v. Scafati, 273 F.Supp. 428 (D.Mass.1967), cert. denied, 391 U.S. 969, 88 S.Ct. 2043, 20 L.Ed.2d 883 (1968), the court upheld a warrant challenged on particularity g......
  • Com. v. Matthews
    • United States
    • Pennsylvania Supreme Court
    • December 29, 1971
    ...1970); Louie v. United States, 426 F.2d 1398 (9th Cir. 1970); Gilbert v. United States, 366 F.2d 923 (9th Cir. 1966); Owens v. Scafati, 273 F.Supp. 428 (D.Mass.1967); Commonwealth v. Stewart, Mass., 267 N.E.2d 213 (1971); Commonwealth v. Rose, 211 Pa.Super. 295, 235 A.2d 462 All of the abov......
  • Commonwealth v. Matthews
    • United States
    • Pennsylvania Supreme Court
    • December 29, 1971
    ...A.2d 513] States, 426 F.2d 1398 (9th Cir. 1970); [446 Pa. 71] Gilbert v. United States, 366 F.2d 923 (9th Cir. 1966); Owens v. Scafati, 273 F.Supp. 428 (D.Mass.1967); Commonwealth v. Stewart, Mass., 267 N.E.2d 213 (1971); Commonwealth v. Rose, 211 Pa.Super. 295, 235 A.2d 462 (1967). All of ......
  • Butler v. State
    • United States
    • Court of Special Appeals of Maryland
    • January 4, 1974
    ...more reasonable than not, and that is enough for probable cause.' The subject case is factually almost identical with Owens v. Scafati, D.C., 273 F.Supp. 428, wherein the warrant described the property to be searched as '1 Thomas Park.' There, the Court said at page 'With regard to the cont......
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