Noah Grimes and Thomas Pearson v. United States

Appellants were convicted of possessing non-tax paid whiskey in violation of 26 U.S.C.A. §§ 5205(a) (2) and 5604(a). They contend that the whiskey was unconstitutionally seized and that the grand and petit juries which considered their cases were illegally constituted.

The whiskey was seized by federal agents without a search warrant. The dispute centers on the location of the whiskey. It was found in a wooded area on land owned by appellant Grimes and behind a house which he occupied. The question presented is whether this location was within the curtilage of his home. The District Court…