United States v. Ventresca
- Decided
- March 1, 1965
- Docket
- 28
- Status
- Published
- Jurisdiction
- Federal
Cited 4,171 timesNo negative treatment found in this library
What later courts said
- holding that detailed observations recounted in affidavit were sufficient to support inference that source of information in affidavit was governmental investigators working on investigation with affiant — Wilson v. State (2002)
- recognizing that “[o]bservations of fellow officers of the Government engaged in a common investigation are plainly a reliable basis for a warrant” — Angela Calloway v. Benjamin Lokey (2020)
- holding that the United States Supreme Court “strongly support[s] the preference to be accorded searches under a warrant” — Michael Clayton v. State of Florida (2018)
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
Me. Justice Goldberg delivered the opinion of the Court.
Respondent, Ventresca, was convicted in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts of possessing and operating an illegal distillery. The conviction was reversed by the Court of Appeals (one judge dissenting) on the ground that the affidavit for a search warrant pursuant to which the still was found was insufficient to establish probable cause. 324 F. 2d 864.
The affidavit upon which the warrant was issued was made and submitted to a United States Commissioner on August 31, 1961, by Walter Mazaka, an Investigator for the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Division of the Internal Revenue Service. He stated that he had reason to believe that an illegal distillery was in operation in respondent, Ventresca’s, house at 148y2 Coburn Avenue in Worcester, Massachusetts. The grounds for this belief were set forth in detail in the affidavit, prefaced with the following statement:
Cite this
United States v. Ventresca, 380 U.S. 102 (1965)Read the full opinion
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