Legal Opinion
Walter v. United States
Supreme Court of the United States
Decided June 20, 1980No. 79-67PublishedCited by 721 opinions
1Judgment of the CourtJustice Stevens, joined by Justice Stewart
Having lawfully acquired possession of a dozen cartons of motion pictures, law enforcement officers viewed several reels of 8-millimeter film on a Government projector. Labels on the individual film boxes indicated that they contained obscene pictures. The question is whether the Fourth Amendment required the agents to obtain a warrant before they screened the films.
Only a few of the bizarre facts need be recounted. On September 25, 1975, 12 large, securely sealed packages containing 871 boxes of 8-millimeter film depicting homosexual activities were shipped by private carrier from St.…
2Cases cited17 opinions
- Coolidge v. New HampshireSupreme Court of the United States · 1971
- Payton v. New YorkSupreme Court of the United States · 1980
- Chimel v. CaliforniaSupreme Court of the United States · 1969
- United States v. ChadwickSupreme Court of the United States · 1977
- United States v. RabinowitzSupreme Court of the United States · 1950
12 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by721 opinions
- Colorado v. ConnellySupreme Court of the United States · 1986
- United States v. JacobsenSupreme Court of the United States · 1984
- Illinois v. AndreasSupreme Court of the United States · 1983
- People v. BradfordCalifornia Supreme Court · 1997
- Stoker v. StateCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas · 1989
716 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.