United States v. Chadwick case brief

United States v. Chadwick case brief summary
433 U.S. 1 (1977)

CASE SYNOPSIS

The United States sought review of the order from the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, which affirmed the suppression of marijuana seized from defendants.

CASE FACTS
After arresting defendants, agents opened and searched defendants' locked foot locker without a warrant and seized marijuana from the locker. After several appeals, the appellate court affirmed the suppression of the seized marijuana holding that probable cause was not sufficient to sustain a warrantless search.

DISCUSSION

• On review, the Court held that by placing personal effects inside a double-locked footlocker, defendants manifested an expectation that the contents would have remained free from public examination. 
• The Court held that the expectation of privacy was no less than one who locked the doors of his home to intruders and that defendants were due the protection of U.S. Constitutional Amendment IV's Warrant Clause. 
• The Court held that there being no exigency it was unreasonable for the government to have conducted a search without the safeguards a judicial warrant provided. 
• The Court held that the search was too remote to have been considered incident to arrest. 
• The Court affirmed the order from the appellate court.

CONCLUSION
The Court affirmed the order from the appellate court that affirmed the suppression of marijuana seized from defendants.



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