Commonwealth v. Hawkins

The defendant’s appeal under G. L. c. 278, §§ 33A-33G, following conviction for receiving stolen government bonds, raises the following issues: (1) the validity of the search warrant, (2) whether the stolen bonds were the subject of a legal search and seizure, and (3) the correctness of the judge’s ruling admitting in evidence a Blue Cross-Blue Shield identification card and the Bank Americard found on the defendant.1

For our purposes we assume the validity of a search warrant authorizing a search for drugs. We discuss whether the seizure of the government bonds was based on probable cause and…