Type a new keyword(s) and press Enter to search

Mapp V. Ohio

 

            
             367 US 643, 6 L ed 2d 1081, 81 S Ct 1684.
            
             VOTE: 6 (Black, Brennan, Clark, Douglas, Stewart, Warren).
             3 (Frankfurter, Harlan, Whittaker).
             Opinion of the Court: Clark.
             Concurring opinions: Black, Douglas, Stewart .
             Dissenting opinion: Harlan.
             FACTS:.
             Dollree Mapp, a woman in her early twenties, was involved in myriad illegal activities which she carried on in her Cleveland home. For several months the police had attempted to shut down her operations, but apparently Mapp was tipped off because, each time police planned a raid, she managed to elude them.
             On 23 May 1957, police officers, led by Sgt. Carl Delau, tried to enter Mapp's house, this time on the grounds that she was harboring a fugitive from justice. (The fugitive she was harboring was suspected of bombing the house of an alleged Cleveland numbers racketeer, Don King, who was later to become a prominent boxing promoter.) When the police arrived, Mapp refused to let them in because they did not have a search warrant. Delau returned to his car, radioed for a search warrant, and kept the house under surveillance. Three hours later, and with additional police officers, Delau again tried to enter. This time Mapp did not come to the door, so police forced it open.
             At this point several events occurred almost simultaneously. Mapp's attorney, whom she had called when police first appeared, arrived and tired to see her. Police would not let him in. Hearing the police break in, Mapp came downstairs and began arguing with them. Delau held up a piece of a paper, which he claimed was a search warrant. Mapp grabbed it and stuffed it down her blouse. A fight broke out, during which police handcuffed Mapp, retrieved the paper, and searched the house. The police seized some allegedly obscene pictures, which were illegal to possess under Ohio law. The existence of a valid search warrant was never established by the state. Mapp was found guilty of possession of obscene materials and sentenced to prison.


Essays Related to Mapp V. Ohio