United States v. Kennedy

MURRAH, Circuit Judge.

This case poses the question whether the poison of an illegal arrest and detention contaminates evidence discovered during the detention under color of a legally issued search warrant. The evidence in question, a sawed-off shotgun, was admitted at the trial of appellants, William Davis Kennedy, Billy Joe Martin, and John Kliner, resulting in convictions for violations of federal firearms regulations. The main argument on appeal is that the trial court’s refusal to suppress the evidence requires a reversal of the convictions. We disagree with appellants’ contentions,…