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Keywords

appealmotionseizure

statute

Related Cases

Brinegar v. U.S., 338 U.S. 160, 69 S.Ct. 1302, 93 L.Ed. 1879

Facts

Brinegar was stopped by federal agents who recognized him and his vehicle, suspecting him of transporting liquor illegally. The agents had prior knowledge of Brinegar's involvement in liquor transportation and observed his car appearing heavily loaded. After a chase, they stopped him and questioned him, leading to his admission of having liquor in the car, which was subsequently seized. Brinegar's motion to suppress the evidence was denied, and the Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction.

The facts are substantially undisputed. At about six o'clock on the evening of March 3, 1947, Malsed, an investigator of the Alcohol Tax Unit, and Creehan, a special investigator, were parked in a car beside a highway near the Quapaw Bridge in northeastern Oklahoma. The point was about five miles west of the Missouri-Oklahoma line. Brinegar drove past headed west in his Ford coupe. Malsed had arrested him about five months earlier for illegally transporting liquor; had seen him loading liquor into a car or truck in Joplin, Missouri, on at least two occasions during the preceding six months; and knew him to have a reputation for hauling liquor.

Issue

Did the federal agents have probable cause to stop and search Brinegar's vehicle without a warrant, thereby justifying the seizure of the liquor as evidence?

The crucial question is whether there was probable cause for Brinegar's arrest, in the light of prior adjudications on this problem, more particularly Carroll v. United States, 267 U.S. 132, 45 S.Ct. 280, 69 L.Ed. 543, 39 A.L.R. 790, which on its face most closely approximates the situation presented here.

Rule

Under the Fourth Amendment, a valid search of a vehicle on a public highway may occur without a warrant if there is probable cause to believe that evidence of a crime is present.

The Carroll decision held that, under the Fourth Amendment, a valid search of a vehicle moving on a public highway may be had without a warrant, but only if probable cause for the search exists.

Analysis

The Court found that the agents had probable cause based on their prior knowledge of Brinegar's activities and the circumstances surrounding the stop. The agents' recognition of Brinegar and their observations of his vehicle being heavily loaded contributed to their reasonable belief that he was engaged in illegal liquor transportation. The Court compared the case to Carroll v. United States, affirming that the facts supported the agents' actions.

In each case the search was of an automobile moving on a public highway and was made without a warrant by federal officers charged with enforcing federal statutes outlawing the transportation of intoxicating liquors (except under conditions not complied with).

Conclusion

The Supreme Court affirmed the lower court's ruling, concluding that the search was lawful due to the existence of probable cause at the time of the stop.

Accordingly the judgment is affirmed.

Who won?

The United States prevailed in the case, as the Supreme Court upheld Brinegar's conviction based on the determination that the search was justified by probable cause.

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