Hollingsworth v. State

I agree with the majority that the search of the brief case discovered in the abandoned house was lawful. However, I reach this conclusion for reasons which differ from those expressed in the majority opinion.

In my view, the search was valid, not because “the officer had probable cause to seize the evidence found at this abandoned and condemned dwelling house,” but because the evidence shows that appellant had voluntarily abandoned the brief case and its contents. As stated in Abel v. United States, 362 U. S. 217, 241 (80 SC 683, 4 LE2d 668) (1960), “There can be nothing unlawful in the…