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Case Summary: United States of America v. Warren Haywood (E.D. La., Apr. 12, 1968)

Factual and Procedural Background

The defendant, Warren Haywood, was indicted for receipt and concealment of 2.780 grams of heroin contained in 35 capsules in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 174. He moved to suppress the capsules taken from his person on November 28, 1967 by Federal Narcotic Agents. On November 20, 1967 agents obtained a U.S. Commissioner-issued warrant to search Haywood's residence at 3602 Second Street; they did not seek a warrant to search Haywood's person or an arrest warrant. The premises warrant was executed on November 28, 1967.

Agents went to the residence, announced their authority and demand to enter, and when the door apparently would not be opened an agent kicked it open. Inside the residence the agents encountered Haywood and others. Agent Coston ordered Haywood to stand still and then, after Haywood indicated he had valuables located in an adjacent room and led the agent there, Coston conducted a "pat search" of Haywood. Feeling an object in Haywood's left trouser pocket that he believed to be a package of capsules, Coston had Agent Compton remove it. The package, wrapped in a Wrigley's Doublemint gum outer wrapper, was opened and the capsules were identified as heroin. Only the capsules (and a revolver seized elsewhere) were material to the prosecution; the revolver suppression motion was abandoned.

After a pretrial hearing and consideration of memoranda, the district court granted Haywood's motion to suppress the capsules, concluding the search of Haywood's person was illegal.

Legal Issues Presented

  1. Whether a warrant to search the premises (the defendant's residence) authorized the agents to search the defendant's person found in the residence.
  2. Whether the search of the defendant's person was lawful as incident to a valid arrest (including whether the agents possessed reasonable grounds or probable cause to arrest without a warrant prior to the person search).
  3. Whether a subsequently made arrest can validate a prior warrantless search of the person that produced the evidence used to effect that arrest.

Arguments of the Parties

Defendant's Arguments

  • The premises search warrant did not authorize the agents to search his person; therefore the search of his person was unlawful and the capsules should be suppressed.
  • The search could not be justified as incidental to a valid arrest because the agents did not have a valid arrest or did not arrest Haywood until after the warrantless person search produced the evidence used to arrest him.

Government's Arguments

  • The Government urged the search should be sustained under the authority of Clay v. United States and Walker v. United States (and cited dicta in United States v. Festa) — cases where containers observed in the course of executing a premises warrant were seized without a separate person warrant.
  • As an alternative, the Government argued the search was valid as incidental to a valid arrest: the affidavit supporting the premises search warrant, the Government asserted, supplied an abundance of "reasonable grounds" to arrest Haywood without a warrant under the statutory standard applicable to narcotics agents (26 U.S.C. § 7607).

Table of Precedents Cited

Precedent Rule or Principle Cited For Application by the Court
Clay v. United States, 246 F.2d 298 (5th Cir. 1957) Government relied on it to support validity of a person-search related to a premises search. The court found Clay inapposite here because Clay involved seizure of an object that fell from a defendant while on premises covered by the warrant; unlike Clay, the agents here had to search Haywood's person to find the package.
Walker v. United States, 117 U.S.App.D.C. 151, 327 F.2d 597 (1963) (cert. denied 377 U.S. 956) Government relied on it to justify seizure of containers observed or passed during execution of a premises warrant. The court distinguished Walker: in Walker the container was in full view and circumstances made it not unreasonable to suppose contraband might be in it; the court held Walker did not justify the person search done here.
United States v. Festa, 192 F. Supp. 160 (D. Mass. 1960) Cited (dicta) by the Government concerning premises searches and related seizures. The court cited Festa with Di Re to support that a premises warrant does not authorize searching all persons present; Festa did not control the result here.
United States v. Riccitelli, 259 F. Supp. 665 (D. Conn. 1966) Provided related authority (noted by the court). Offered as additional reference in the court's discussion distinguishing Walker and Clay; cited in a footnote as a related decision.
United States v. Di Re, 332 U.S. 581, 68 S.Ct. 222, 92 L.Ed. 210 (1948) Principle that a search warrant for premises is not coextensive with authority to search persons present. The court relied on Di Re to support its holding that a premises warrant does not authorize searching all persons present in the premises.
Rent v. United States, 209 F.2d 893 (5th Cir. 1954) Authority cited about the necessity of procuring a warrant when practicable; failure to procure is not excused by inconvenience. The court used Rent as authority supporting the view that practicability of obtaining a person-search warrant must be considered and agents' failure to procure a warrant was not excused.
Williams v. United States, 382 F.2d 48 (5th Cir. 1967) Same general principle regarding procurement of warrants and reasonableness. Cited along with Rent and other cases to support that the agents' failure to obtain a person-search warrant when practicable rendered the warrantless search unjustified.
Trupiano v. United States, 334 U.S. 699, 68 S.Ct. 1229, 92 L.Ed. 1663 (1948) Fourth Amendment search-and-seizure principles (cited in support of warrant requirement where practicable). Included among authorities the court cited to reject the Government's failure-to-obtain-warrant rationale.
United States v. Rabinowitz, 339 U.S. 56, 70 S.Ct. 430, 94 L.Ed. 653 (1950) Fourth Amendment/warrant jurisprudence (cited in context of warrant necessity and scope). Cited as part of the group of cases the court used to analyze the reasonableness of conducting a person search without a warrant when a premises warrant was available.
Chapman v. United States, 365 U.S. 610, 81 S.Ct. 776, 5 L.Ed.2d 828 (1961) Fourth Amendment authority (cited by the court). Included in the list of precedents supporting the court's analysis that agents should have sought a person-search warrant when practicable.
Niro v. United States, 388 F.2d 535 (1st Cir. 1968) Cited as related authority on search and seizure issues. Used as part of the authorities supporting the court's view on warrant procurement and the limits on premises-warrant authority.
Baxter v. United States, 188 F.2d 119 (6th Cir. 1951) Referenced among decisions concerning limits on searches and warrant requirements. Part of the authority the court relied upon in rejecting the Government's justification for the warrantless person search.
Steeber v. United States, 198 F.2d 615 (10th Cir. 1952) Referenced in context of search-and-seizure precedent. Cited with other decisions to support the court's conclusion that the agents' failure to obtain a person-search warrant was not excused.
Draper v. United States, 358 U.S. 307, 79 S.Ct. 329, 3 L.Ed.2d 327 (1959) Equivalence of "probable cause" and "reasonable grounds" terminology. The court relied on Draper (in a quoted note) to equate Fourth Amendment "probable cause" and 26 U.S.C. § 7607 "reasonable grounds" when discussing whether the affidavit could have supported an arrest or an arrest warrant.
United States v. McKethan, 247 F. Supp. 324 (D.D.C. 1965) (affirmed D.C. Cir. order noted) That temporarily restricting a person's movement at entry can be done to preserve the premises or prevent destruction of evidence and is not necessarily an arrest. The court cited McKethan to explain that ordering Haywood to "stand still" was consistent with preserving the premises for search and did not constitute an arrest.
Hicks v. United States, 382 F.2d 158 (D.C. Cir. 1967) (referenced in a note) Related authority on detention during searches. Cited in a footnote as corroborative authority for the proposition that temporary restraint to preserve a premises is not necessarily an arrest.
Walker v. United States, 125 F.2d 395 (5th Cir. 1942) Used for the proposition that an arrest may not be based upon a prior unlawful search. Included among cases cited by the court to support the rule that an arrest cannot validate an antecedent unlawful search.
United States v. Frisch, 140 F.2d 660 (5th Cir. 1944) Cited in support of the rule that arrests may not be predicated on prior unlawful searches. Used with other authorities to reinforce the principle that subsequent arrest cannot cure an earlier illegal search.
Johnson v. United States, 333 U.S. 10, 68 S.Ct. 367, 92 L.Ed. 436 (1948) Fourth Amendment authority cited for limits on searches and the exclusionary principle. Cited by the court among authorities that an arrest cannot be based on evidence obtained by an unlawful search.

Court's Reasoning and Analysis

The court's analysis proceeded from the factual sequence established at the suppression hearing: agents possessed a premises-search warrant but did not seek a warrant to search Haywood's person or an arrest warrant; upon entry an agent ordered Haywood to stand still and then conducted a pat search during which he discovered a package in Haywood's trouser pocket by touch; the package was removed, opened, identified as capsules of heroin, and only then was Haywood told he was under arrest.

The court considered two alternate defenses urged by the Government: (1) that the search was proper under precedents (Clay and Walker) permitting seizure of containers discovered in the course of a premises search; and (2) that the search was incidental to an arrest which the agents were authorized to make without a warrant based on the affidavit used to obtain the premises warrant.

On the first point, the court distinguished Clay and Walker because in those cases the objects seized were in full view or were observed in the course of the premises search such that it was not unreasonable to conclude contraband might be in those containers. By contrast, in this case the agents first made a search of Haywood's person and removed the concealed package; the court concluded the "special circumstances" present in Walker and Clay were not present here.

On the second point, the court acknowledged that the affidavit supporting the premises warrant contained information (agent knowledge of defendant's narcotics history, surveillance showing visits by known peddlers, and information from reliable informants including an actual purchase) that, if credited, would have supplied "reasonable grounds" to arrest Haywood without a warrant under 26 U.S.C. § 7607 (a point the court accepted as a legal proposition and noted that "probable cause" and "reasonable grounds" are substantially equivalent, citing Draper). Nevertheless, the court concluded that if the agents truly believed they had sufficient grounds to arrest without a warrant, they would have arrested Haywood immediately upon seeing him on entry. The fact that they did not arrest until after the person search and after the search produced the evidence used to arrest him demonstrated that the agents did not consider the affidavit alone sufficient for arrest prior to the search.

The court therefore reasoned that the person search was not incidental to a valid arrest because the arrest occurred after — and as a consequence of — the warrantless person search. It applied the principle that an arrest may not be based upon results of a prior unlawful search, citing multiple cases to that effect. Additionally, the court emphasized that practicability of procuring a person-search warrant had to be considered; the agents had ample opportunity to obtain such a warrant between November 20 and November 28 and their failure to do so was not excused by inconvenience or misplaced confidence. Consequently, the warrantless search of Haywood's person was unlawful and the evidence it produced could not be used to justify the arrest.

Holding and Implications

Holding: The court granted the defendant's pretrial motion to suppress the capsules seized from his person; the warrantless search of Haywood's person was held illegal.

Implications:

  • The immediate, direct consequence is that the physical evidence recovered from Haywood's person (the heroin capsules seized as a result of the warrantless person search) is suppressed and cannot be used by the Government in its prosecution on the charge described in the opinion.
  • The court did not announce the creation of a new legal rule; rather, it applied existing Fourth Amendment principles and precedent to the facts before it, distinguishing the Government's cited authorities and relying on precedent holding that premises warrants do not authorize searches of all persons present and that arrests may not be grounded on evidence obtained through unlawful searches.

This summary is derived exclusively from the text of the court opinion provided and does not add facts or conclusions beyond those expressly stated therein.

UNITED STATES of America v. Warren HAYWOOD.

BOYLE, District Judge:

The defendant, charged in an indictment with receipt and concealment of 2.780 grams of heroin contained in 35 capsules in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 174, has moved to suppress the capsules which were found on and taken from his person on November 28, 1967 by Federal Narcotic Agents.

The return on the premises search warrant shows 33 capsules were seized. However, a recount after the return was made disclosed there were in fact 35 capsules.

After hearing the evidence at a hearing on the pretrial motion, and considering the post-hearing memoranda of counsel, we conclude the motion should be granted.

On November 20, 1967, the agents obtained a warrant issued by the U.S. Commissioner to search defendant's residence at 3602 Second Street in New Orleans. No warrants to search or arrest the defendant were sought. The premises search warrant was executed eight days later on November 28, 1967. Other than the heroin sought to be suppressed, the return on the warrant and the testimony adduced on the motion hearing show no evidence material to the prosecution herein was found. Mover does not question the validity of the issuance or execution of the warrant. He does urge that the premises search warrant did not permit the agents to lawfully search his person.

A revolver seized was not found on defendant's person. Defendant abandoned his motion to suppress the revolver.

The affidavit for the warrant, executed by Federal Narcotic Agent Coston, shows that on November 20, 1967 the defendant was well known to the agents as a narcotic violator, that the agents' surveillance of 3602 Second Street on November 19, 1967 established that one Smothers and one Curry Williams, both known to the agents as active wholesale and retail peddlers of heroin, had separately arrived at defendant's residence, remained for a short period and left, that the agents had information from two reliable informants that defendant was selling heroin at his residence, that on November 10, 1967 one of the informants had in fact purchased heroin from the defendant at that location and that two days before the warrant was issued the other informant furnished the agents with the information that defendant was in possession of a large quantity of heroin, the main portion of which was hidden in an undisclosed location in the rear yard of 3602 Second Street with a smaller portion being located in defendant's residence.

On November 28, 1967 Coston and two other Federal Narcotic Agents, with New Orleans police officers, went to defendant's residence described in the warrant. While others went to the rear, Agent Coston went upon the porch of the residence, knocked and simultaneously declared he was a Federal Agent with a search warrant and demanded that the door be opened.

Seconds later, after hearing a woman's voice and a lot of hurried movement from within, from which he concluded the door would not be opened, Coston kicked open the door and entered. Thereupon he saw the defendant, his wife, another female unknown to him, and Curry Williams, alias Maker, whom he knew to be a narcotics peddler and had seen visit defendant's residence on November 19, 1967.

Going directly to the defendant, then standing by a cook stove attending a pot in which something, thought to be corn bread, was cooking, Coston informed defendant he had a search warrant and ordered him to stand still.

Then Coston asked the defendant if he had any "weapons, pistols, money or other valuables." When the defendant replied affirmatively and indicated the location thereof to be in an adjacent room, Coston and the defendant walked into that room, in which Agent Compton and the police officers were.

At that point and place, Coston "pat searched the defendant for weapons." Haywood wore lightweight and rather tight trousers. The "pat search" revealed to the agent's touch an object in defendant's left trouser pocket which Coston knew was not a weapon, but which, from experience, he concluded was a package of capsules.

Upon this discovery, Coston, continuing to hold the object from outside defendant's trousers, called Agent Compton to remove it. Compton did so, and upon removal it was found that the capsules were contained in a Wrigley's Doublemint gum outer wrapper.

Carrying capsules containing narcotic drugs in such wrappers is common among narcotic law violators and the agents had seized similar packages from other narcotic violators previously. Therefore, Coston, upon determining by touch that the package in defendant's pocket contained capsules and knowing defendant's reputation as a narcotic law violator, believed the capsules contained heroin.

After Compton opened the package and observed the capsules, it was his opinion (since confirmed by analysis) that they contained heroin. Thereupon, Compton informed Haywood he was under arrest and advised him of his rights.

Mover argues that although the application for the premises search warrant was sufficient to authorize the issuance of a warrant for the search of defendant's person, the agents sought only the premises warrant; that they converted the specific warrant to a general one and that, since the warrant did not authorize a search of defendant, such search was unlawful. He further contends that the search cannot be sustained as being incidental to a valid arrest.

The Government urges us to sustain validity of the search on the authority of Clay v. United States, 246 F.2d 298 (5th Cir., 1957); Walker v. United States, 117 U.S.App.D.C. 151, 327 F.2d 597 (1963), cert. denied 377 U.S. 956, 84 S.Ct. 1635, 12 L.Ed.2d 500 (1964), and dicta in United States v. Festa, 192 F. Supp. 160 (D.Mass., 1960). Alternatively, we are urged to declare the search valid for the reason that it was incidental to a valid arrest which the agents were authorized to make without an arrest warrant because "the information contained in the affidavit supporting the issuance of the [premises] search warrant sufficiently set forth an abundance of `reasonable grounds' to arrest the defendant, Warren Haywood, without a warrant. * * *"

See Government's post-hearing memorandum.

Under the facts presented here, we reject the Government's contentions and hold that the search of defendant was illegal.

From the sequence of events related by the agents, though when the search of the premises occurred was not discussed, the indication is such search was not made until after the search of Haywood and his subsequent arrest. It is immaterial, however, when the premises were searched, for it produced no evidence of the law violation charged to the defendant or any other Federal offense.

The cases of Walker and Clay, supra, urged by the Government as being controlling here, we find inapposite. In those cases the containers, a paper bag and purse wallet seen by the officers to be passed from one defendant to another on the premises to be searched in Walker, and in Clay a smaller paper bag seen by the officers to have fallen from a larger bag held by the defendant while on the premises covered by the warrant, in which the seized evidence was found, were in full view of the officers under circumstances making it not unreasonable for the officers to suppose that the objects of the search might be in those containers.

See also United States v. Riccitelli, 259 F. Supp. 665 (D.Conn., 1966).

To be in the position of the officers in Walker and Clay, the agents here first had to conduct an actual search of the defendant's person and remove the package of capsules from its concealment in Haywood's trouser pocket.

The Court in Walker was careful to point out that

"This (the Court's approval of the search and seizure there) is not to say that the authority conferred by a warrant to search premises is co-terminous with that residing in a warrant to search the person. See United States v. Di Re, 332 U.S. 581, 68 S.Ct. 222, 92 L.Ed. 210 (1948). There are obviously situations where the grant of one cannot be enlarged to include the other. We hold only that, in the special circumstances shown by this record, due and proper execution of the warrant in question rationally comprehended within it the right to take the wallet and bag from the hands of appellant Woody."

We do not find the special circumstances of either Walker or Clay in this case.

The agents, when they obtained the warrant to search the premises, did not request a warrant to search defendant's person. In his post-hearing memorandum, the defendant conceded the sufficiency of the information contained in the affidavit, on which the former was issued, for issuance of the latter. Why the agents did not seek such a warrant is not explained. We find no reason for not submitting to the Commissioner the evidence for the purpose of obtaining a warrant to search Haywood. Considering all the facts and circumstances present here and the total atmosphere of the case, practicability of procuring a search warrant must be considered in determining whether the search of Haywood without a warrant was reasonable. The agents had ample opportunity to obtain a warrant on and after November 20, 1967 and up to the time they set out on November 28, 1967 to execute the premises warrant with justified confidence that the search would produce evidence of criminal activity sufficient to prosecute the defendant. Misplaced confidence or error in judgment, like inconvenience and trouble attendant to obtaining a warrant, where one is required, does not excuse failure to procure the writ. In our opinion the search without a warrant was not justified. Rent v. United States, 209 F.2d 893 (5th Cir., 1954); Williams v. United States, 382 F.2d 48 (5th Cir., 1967). See also Trupiano v. United States, 334 U.S. 699, 68 S.Ct. 1229, 92 L.Ed. 1663 (1948); United States v. Rabinowitz, 339 U.S. 56, 70 S.Ct. 430, 94 L.Ed. 653 (1950); Chapman v. United States, 365 U.S. 610, 81 S.Ct. 776, 5 L.Ed.2d 828 (1961); Niro v. United States, 388 F.2d 535 (1st Cir., 1968); Baxter v. United States, 188 F.2d 119 (6th Cir., 1951); Steeber v. United States, 198 F.2d 615 (10th Cir., 1952); Walker v. United States, 225 F.2d 447 (5th Cir., 1955).

The Government contends the information contained in the affidavit of November 20, 1967 authorized the agents to arrest the defendant on November 28, 1967 without an arrest warrant. That being true, it was also sufficient on November 20th and at times thereafter for the issuance of an arrest warrant, but none was sought.

In addition to their personal knowledge and the information from their reliable informers as to defendant's activities, one of the informers had made a purchase of drugs from the defendant.

Crediting the Government contention, we must conclude the same information would have provided the reasonable grounds sufficient for belief that Haywood was then committing, or at least had committed, a violation of the narcotic drug laws and to authorize his arrest by the narcotic agents without a warrant pursuant to Section 7607 of Title 26 U.S.C.

Agents of the Bureau of Narcotics may:

"make arrests without warrant for violations of any law of the United States relating to narcotic drugs (as defined in section 4731) or marihuana (as defined in section 4761) where the violation is committed in the presence of the person making the arrest or where such person has reasonable grounds to believe that the person to be arrested has committed or is committing such violation."

"Probable cause" used in the Fourth Amendment and "reasonable grounds" used in 26 U.S.C. § 7607 are substantially equivalent in meaning. Draper v. United States, 358 U.S. 307, 79 S.Ct. 329, 3 L.Ed.2d 327 (1959).

The search, to be sustained, must have been incidental to a valid arrest with or without an arrest warrant.

Although Coston's order, upon entering the residence, to Haywood to stand still restricted his movement, the restriction was for the limited purpose of preserving the premises for the search, or reducing the risk of interference with the search or preventing the destruction of evidence which the search was intended to reach. United States v. McKethan, 247 F. Supp. 324 (D.D.C., 1965). No contention is made that Haywood was then arrested.

Affirmed by order No. 20,059 (D.C. Cir., Oct. 6, 1966). See also Hicks v. United States, 382 F.2d 158 (D.C. Cir., 1967).

The evidence convinces us that the agents did not intend an arrest of Haywood and did not consider he was arrested until Agent Compton advised him he was under arrest following the person search and removal of the capsules from his trouser pocket. Indeed, the Government does not contend otherwise.

The difficulty in which the Government finds itself under its alternative contention is that the evidence shows that the agents apparently did not think the information they possessed (as set forth in the affidavit for the premises search warrant) was sufficient to arrest defendant without a warrant. Had they thought so, they would have, in our opinion, arrested Haywood on sighting him immediately upon entry into his residence. If they did regard their information sufficient for arrest without a warrant, the fact remains they did not arrest until after the search. The evidence convinces us that the agents regarded the grounds for Haywood's arrest were provided by the fruits of the prior warrantless search of defendant's person. The arrest, therefore, was incidental to the search and cannot be justified thereby. The search was bad from the start. What it produced cannot make it legal. The subsequently occurring arrest, even if valid without a warrant, could not change the character of the search.

While reasonable searches may be made incidental to a prior lawful arrest, an arrest may not be based upon a prior unlawful search. Walker v. United States, 125 F.2d 395 (5th Cir., 1942); United States v. Frisch, 140 F.2d 660, 662 (5th Cir., 1944); Johnson v. United States, 333 U.S. 10, 68 S.Ct. 367, 92 L.Ed. 436 (1948).

See also cases cited under Headnote 3, p. 396, of case report.

Remaining is the question whether, absent a prior valid arrest which would justify a contemporaneous search of the defendant's person, the grant of authority contained in the premises search warrant would validate the search of defendant's person? We think not. A search warrant for a residence or other premises does not authorize the search of all persons who may be present. United States v. Di Re, 332 U.S. 581, 68 S.Ct. 222, 92 L.Ed. 210 (1948); United States v. Festa, 192 F. Supp. 160, 163 (D.Mass., 1960).

The Motion is granted.

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UNITED STATES v. HAYWOOD, (E.D.La. 1968)
(Apr 12, 1968)