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· 6/1/1921

Burdeau v. McDowell

Citations

  • 256 U.S. 465
  • 41 S. Ct. 574
  • 65 L. Ed. 1048
  • 1921 U.S. LEXIS 1576
  • 13 A.L.R. 1159

Syllabus

<p>1. The United.States may retain for use as evidence in the criminal prosecution of their owner, incriminating documents which are turned over to it by private individuals who procured them, without the participation or knowledge of any government official, through a wrongful search of the owner’s private desk and papers .in an office.' P. 474. ; ■ , .</p> <p>2. The provision of the Fourth Amendment forbidding unreasonable searches' and seizures refers to governmental action; the Fifth Amendment secures the citizen from compulsory testimony against himself by protecting him from extorted confessions and examinations'in court proceedings by cofnpulsory methods. ,P. 475.</p> <p>Reversed.</p>

How courts have described this case

Verbatim parenthetical descriptions written by other courts when citing this decision. Ranked by citation-network relevance.

  • holding that there was no Fourth Amendment violation where \no official of the . . . government had anything to do with the wrongful seizure\
  • holding that there was no Fourth Amendment violation where \no official of the . . . government had anything to do with the wrongful seizure\
  • holding that no government search occurred within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution when a thief stole private papers belonging to the defendant and delivered them to law enforcement officers
  • “Anything done by a government; . . . an intrusion on a person’s rights... by a governmental entity_”
  • Evidence wrongfully obtained by individuals unconnected with the government does not violate the Fourth Amendment
  • it is well established that without some government action the fourth amendment is not implicated

Source: CourtListener parenthetical corpus (CC0).

Judges: Day, Brandéis, Holmes

Read full opinion on CourtListener

Sourced from CourtListener / Free Law Project (CC0).

This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.