United States v. James Edward Thompson

EDWARDS, Circuit Judge.

The only issue presented in this case— a difficult one — is whether or not the arrest of appellant and the subsequent search of his car were violations of the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. This issue was tried on appellant’s motion to suppress evidence (the 30 gallons of non-tax-paid corn whiskey which was found in the trunk of his car). A District Judge for the Western District of Tennessee, Western Division, denied the motion to suppress and subsequently found appellant guilty of violating the federal liquor excise tax laws on the basis of…