Wong Sun v. United States
- Decided
- January 14, 1963
- Docket
- 36
- Status
- Published
- Jurisdiction
- Federal
Cited 12,871 timesOverruled (not yet verified)Possible negative treatment: overruled (not yet verified) · United States v. George E. Veillette, Jr.
What later courts said
- holding that a search and seizure which is illegal at its inception is not rendered legal by "what brings it to light" — Walker v. State (2005)
- holding that evidence obtained by “means sufficiently distinguishable to be purged of the primary taint” need not be suppressed — United States v. Raymond H. McDonald A/K/A Play, A/K/A Randolph Smith (1995)
- concluding that based on the facts of that case, the arrest that followed an unlawful entry was unlawful — State v. Ferguson (2009)
Each line is a later court’s own words about this case, not a summary. Read the opinion before relying on it.
How the opinion begins
Mr. Justice Brennan delivered the opinion of the Court.
The petitioners were tried without a jury in the District Court for the Northern District of California under a two-count indictment for violation of the Federal Narcotics [*473] Laws, 21 U. S. C. § 174.[1] They were acquitted under the first count which charged a conspiracy, but convicted under the second count which charged the substantive offense of fraudulent and knowing transportation and concealment of illegally imported heroin. The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, one judge dissenting, affirmed the convictions. 288 F. 2d 366. We" granted certiorari. 368 U. S. 817. We heard argument in the 1961 Term and reargument this Term. 370 U. S. 908.
About 2 a. m. on the morning of June 4, 1959, federal narcotics agents in San Francisco, after having had one Horn Way under surveillance for six weeks, arrested him and found heroin in his possession. Horn Way, who had not before been an informant, stated after his arrest that he had bought an ounce of heroin the night before from one known to him only as “Blackie Toy,” proprietor of a laundry on Leavenworth Street.
Statutes cited
Cite this
Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471 (1963)Read the full opinion
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