Pearson v. United States, 3122.

• Decision Date: 21 June 1945
• Docket Number: No. 3122.,3122.
• Citation: 150 F.2d 219
• Parties: PEARSON v. UNITED STATES.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit

150 F.2d 219 (1945)

PEARSON v. UNITED STATES.

No. 3122.

Circuit Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit.

June 21, 1945.

Kelly Brown, of Muskogee, Okl. (R. M. Mountcastle, of Muskogee, Okl., on the brief), for appellant.

Marvin Shilling, Asst. U. S. Atty., of Muskogee, Okl. (Cleon A. Summers, U. S. Atty., of Muskogee, Okl., on the brief), for appellee.

Before PHILLIPS, HUXMAN, and MURRAH, Circuit Judges.

HUXMAN, Circuit Judge.

This is a proceeding to confiscate and forfeit an automobile seized by agents of the Alcohol Tax Unit. The judgment of the court below forfeited the automobile to the United States, and the owner thereof has appealed. The decision turns upon whether the search and seizure of the automobile without a search warrant was lawful and whether the evidence obtained as a result thereof was properly admitted. The facts are these:

On the day of the search, Roy B. Mogridge and Ernest H. Evans, two investigators for the Alcohol Tax Unit, were in the city of Fort Smith, Arkansas. They observed a 1941 Chevrolet automobile bearing an Oklahoma license tag, parked in front of the Bell Liquor Store. They saw George Anderson Pearson, the appellant, and one Edwards, come out of the store, enter the car, and drive away in the direction of Oklahoma. The officers recognized Edwards as a "bootlegger" but at the time thought his name was Slim Payne, whom they also knew as a bootlegger. They did not investigate the records at this store to ascertain whether any liquor had been sold to these parties. They did investigate several other liquor stores in Fort Smith and ascertained that liquor had been sold to someone driving an Oklahoma car. They thereupon took up a position on the highway across the state line in Oklahoma and when appellant and Edwards came along, they stopped the automobile, searched it, and found some intoxicating liquor in the car. The only evidence offered at the trial was the liquor found as a result of this search. A motion to suppress the evidence was overruled.

The right of the people to be secure in their homes and possessions against unreasonable searches and seizures is a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States. It is a right grounded in the traditions of English jurisprudence. It goes back many years prior to the foundation of our government and the adoption of our Constitution. The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause supported by Oath or affirmation * * *." This means that before an officer may search one's premises or seize one's property he must have a search and seizure warrant.

There is one well recognized exception to the general rule. An officer in the legal discharge of his duty may institute a search and may seize property without a search or seizure warrant if he has probable cause to believe that the law is being violated. No general rule can be laid down as to what constitutes probable cause. It must in the end depend upon the offense, the premises, or character of the property to be searched, as well as upon many other facts, circumstances and conditions. Thus, what would constitute probable cause justifying the search of an automobile might be wholly insufficient to authorize the search of one's dwelling place, his castle.

In Stacey v. Emery, 97 U.S. 642, 645, 24 L.Ed. 1035, it was held that if the facts and circumstances before the officer are such as to warrant a man of prudence and caution in believing that the...