''Trupiano v. United States'', 334 U.S. 699 (1948), was a
US Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point of ...
decision that ruled that warrantless searches following arrests were unconstitutional under the
Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
The case involved a warrantless raid by law enforcement on an illegal distillery, before which law enforcement had had sufficient time to obtain warrants but had chosen not to. After the raid, evidence was seized. In a majority opinion authored by Justice
Frank Murphy
William Francis Murphy (April 13, 1890July 19, 1949) was an American politician, lawyer and jurist from Michigan. He was a Democrat who was named to the Supreme Court of the United States in 1940 after a political career that included serving ...
, the Court ruled that this seizure had been a violation of the Fourth Amendment:
It is a cardinal rule that, in seizing goods and articles, law enforcement agents must secure and use search warrants whenever reasonably practicable. This rule rests upon the desirability of having magistrates rather than police officers determine when searches and seizures are permissible and what limitations should be placed upon such activities.
''Trupiano'' was overturned only two years later in ''
United States v. Rabinowitz'' (1950), which allowed law enforcement to search and seize evidence at the site of an arrest.
References
External links
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{{US4thAmendment, warrantexceptions, state=expanded
1948 in United States case law
United States Fourth Amendment case law
United States Supreme Court cases
United States Supreme Court cases of the Vinson Court