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James v. Louisiana

U.S.
Oct 18, 1965
382 U.S. 36 (1965)

Summary

holding that a search of a petitioner's home after his arrest on the street two blocks away "cannot be regarded as incident to arrest"

Summary of this case from State v. Fernon

Opinion

ON PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE SUPREME COURT OF LOUISIANA.

No. 23, Misc.

Decided October 18, 1965.

After petitioner's arrest, he was driven by police to his home, more than two blocks away, where an intensive search without a warrant yielded the narcotics and equipment which were the basis for his conviction for possession of narcotics. Held: The search was not incident to the arrest which occurred more than two blocks away and it was constitutional error to admit the fruits of the illegal search into evidence.

Certiorari granted; 246 La. 1033, 169 So.2d 89, reversed and remanded.

G. Wray Gill, Sr., for petitioner.

Jack P. F. Gremillion, Attorney General of Louisiana, M. E. Culligan, Assistant Attorney General, and Jim Garrison for respondent.


The petitioner was convicted by a Louisiana jury of possession of narcotics and was sentenced to imprisonment for 10 years. The Supreme Court of Louisiana set aside the conviction on the ground that it was based upon evidence seized without a warrant during an illegal search. 246 La. 1033, 169 So.2d 89. Upon rehearing, however, that court affirmed the conviction by a divided vote. 246 La. 1053, 169 So.2d 97. We grant the motion to proceed in forma pauperis and the petition for certiorari and reverse the judgment.

Police officers arrested the petitioner near the intersection of Camp Street and Jackson Avenue in the City of New Orleans, after he had alighted from an automobile driven by another man. The officers then drove the petitioner to his home, more than two blocks away. They broke open the door and for several hours conducted an intensive search which finally yielded the narcotics equipment and single morphine tablet that constituted the basis of the petitioner's subsequent conviction.

The Supreme Court of Louisiana found that the officers had probable cause to arrest the petitioner at the time they apprehended him, and the validity of his arrest is not here in issue. In the circumstances of this case, however, the subsequent search of the petitioner's home cannot be regarded as incident to his arrest on a street corner more than two blocks away. A search "can be incident to an arrest only if it is substantially contemporaneous with the arrest and is confined to the immediate vicinity of the arrest." Stoner v. California, 376 U.S. 483, 486. See also Preston v. United States, 376 U.S. 364.

Under the doctrine of Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643, see also Ker v. California, 374 U.S. 23, it was constitutional error to admit the fruits of this illegal search into evidence at the petitioner's trial. Accordingly, the petition for certiorari is granted, the judgment is reversed, and the case is remanded to the Supreme Court of Louisiana for further proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion.

It is so ordered.


Summaries of

James v. Louisiana

U.S.
Oct 18, 1965
382 U.S. 36 (1965)

holding that a search of a petitioner's home after his arrest on the street two blocks away "cannot be regarded as incident to arrest"

Summary of this case from State v. Fernon

In James, the Supreme Court of Louisiana found that law enforcement officers had probable cause to arrest the petitioner at the time they apprehended him, and the validity of his arrest was not an issue at the United States Supreme Court. After James's arrest, a warrantless search of his home located more than two blocks from where he was arrested was conducted.

Summary of this case from U.S. v. Wheeler

In James, after the defendant was arrested, he was taken to his home where, without a warrant, the police searched the home and found narcotics.

Summary of this case from People v. Watkins

In James v. State of Louisiana, 382 U.S. 36, 86 S.Ct. 151, 15 L.Ed.2d 30 (1965), under pre- Chimel doctrine, the United States Supreme Court held that the search of an accused's home two blocks away from his arrest on a street corner was not incident to his arrest.

Summary of this case from State v. Lenahan

In James v. Louisiana, 382 U.S. 36 (1965), where no such necessity was apparent, a search conducted two blocks from the scene of an arrest and a few minutes thereafter was held constitutionally impermissible.

Summary of this case from Commonwealth v. Harris
Case details for

James v. Louisiana

Case Details

Full title:JAMES v . LOUISIANA

Court:U.S.

Date published: Oct 18, 1965

Citations

382 U.S. 36 (1965)
86 S. Ct. 151

Citing Cases

United States v. Smollar

Id. at 347, 77 S.Ct. at 829. A search of defendant's home two blocks away from the place of his arrest was…

Caughlin v. Superior Court

"A search `can be incident to an arrest only if it is substantially contemporaneous with the arrest and is…