Constitutional Law – Search and Seizure – Admissibility in a Federal Court of Evidence Illegally Obtained by State Officers

In response to a call from a citizen whose suspicions had been aroused by the actions of the defendant and a companion, Maryland police unlawfully arrested the companion and searched the premises occupied by him and the defendant. & a result of this search, money was found which had been stolen in the District of Columbia. Although the search was illegal under Maryland law and in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment, this money was used as evidence to convict the defendant of housebreaking and larceny in the District of Columbia federal court. On appeal, held, conviction reversed and remanded for a new trial excluding such evidence. As the evidence was obtained in violation of the Constitution, it should be excluded on principle and as a matter of sound judicial policy even though only state officers participated in the unlawful proceedings. Hanna v. United States, (D.C. Cir. 1958) 260 F. (2d) 723.