Eugene Smith v. United States

The crucial evidence upon which appellant was convicted was his admission to the police that he had sold narcotics to Hayden. The police obtained the admission by questioning appellant in his dwelling1 after they had illegally en*760tered it. I would reverse the conviction because the evidence, being the fruit of the illegal entry, should have been excluded. Nueslein v. District of Columbia, 1940, 73 App.D.C. 85, 115 F.2d 690.2

From the proposition that the common law authorizes a policeman to arrest a person on reasonable cause to believe he has committed a felony, the majority proceeds to the…