U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, 1960

Williams v. United States

U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit · Decided March 10, 1960

276 F.2d 522; 107 U.S. App. D.C. 276 (Federal Reporter, Second Series)

Counsel

Mr. Howard D. Levine, Washington, D. C., with whom Messrs. George R. Jacobi and Alexander L. Benton, Washington, D. C., were on the brief, for appellants., Mr. Donald S. Smith, Asst. U. S. Atty., with whom Messrs. Oliver Gasch, U. S. Atty., and Carl W. Belcher, Asst. U. S. Atty., were on the brief, for appellee.

Cases that cite this one

3 later published cases cite this decision.

Frank Hair v. United States of America, John I. Burroughs v. United States (D.C. Cir. 1961)
United States v. Robert S. Wylie (D.C. Cir. 1972)
Willie Williams v. United States of America, Estelle Murphy v. United States (D.C. Cir. 1960)

This list shows which later cases cite this one. It does not say how they treated it, and no review of that has been done. Not a substitute for Shepard’s or KeyCite — verify before relying.

Opinion of the Court

PER CURIAM.

Appellants were convicted of violations of the narcotics laws, and on appeal charge that the police lacked probable cause to arrest and, in the night season, illegally broke into the dwelling they occupied. Assuming arguendo that the record before us adequately establishes the existence of probable cause for the arrest of the appellant Murphy, the circumstances otherwise do not justify the officers in breaking in and entering her house without a warrant of any kind. The subsequent search was, therefore, illegal. We must reverse because the convictions were obtained by the use of evidence thus secured. We find ourselves unable to distinguish the situation developed here from that considered in Miller v. United States, 1958, 357 U.S. 301, *52378 S.Ct. 1190, 2 L.Ed.2d 1332, and see cases cited in Williams v. United States, 1959, 105 U.S.App.D.C. 41, 45, 263 F.2d 487, 491.

Reversed.

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