United States v. Chadwick

433 U.S. 1, 97 S. Ct. 2476, 53 L. Ed. 2d 538 (1977)

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United States v. Chadwick

United States Supreme Court
433 U.S. 1, 97 S. Ct. 2476, 53 L. Ed. 2d 538 (1977)

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Facts

Amtrak officials suspected that Gregory Machado and Bridget Leary (defendants) were traveling from California to Massachusetts with a footlocker full of marijuana. Federal agents greeted the train in Boston and used a police dog to confirm there were drugs in the footlocker. Joseph Chadwick (defendant) arrived at the train station to pick up the footlocker. Chadwick, Machado, and Leary were arrested immediately after they placed the footlocker in the trunk of Chadwick’s car. The footlocker was brought to the federal building, where it was searched about an hour and a half after the arrests were made. The agents did not obtain a search warrant. At their trial for drug offenses, Chadwick, Machado, and Leary moved to suppress the marijuana evidence, claiming that the warrantless search was unconstitutional. The government argued that the search fell under either the automobile or search-incident-to-arrest exception to the warrant requirement. The trial court rejected that argument and granted the motion to suppress. The court of appeals affirmed, and the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Burger, C.J.)

Concurrence (Brennan, J.)

Dissent (Blackmun, J.)

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