Robert Williams v. Frederick E. Adams, Warden, Connecticut State Prison

441 F.2d 394, 1971 U.S. App. LEXIS 10729

Opinions

PER CURIAM:

Upon application by petitioner a majority of the active members of this court voted to reconsider in banc the decision of the panel in this case, 436 F.2d 30, on the record and briefs originally filed, without further oral argument. Both parties were invited to file supplemental briefs, and both have done so. Upon reconsideration, we conclude that on the basis of the facts then known to him, Sergeant Connolly had neither probable cause to arrest Williams nor any other sufficient cause for reaching into Williams’s waistband, an action which led to the subsequent search of Williams’s car and the discovery of a machete and narcotics later introduced in evidence at Williams’s trial. See Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1969); Spinelli v. United States, 393 U.S. 410, 89 S.Ct. 584, 21 L.d.2d 637 (1969); Aguilar v. Texas, 378 U.S. 108, 84 S.Ct. 1509, 12 L.Ed.2d 723 (1964); Henry v. United States, 361 U.S. 98, 80 S.Ct. 168, 4 L.Ed.2d 134 (1959); Draper v. United States, 358 U.S. 307, 79 S.Ct. 329, 3 L.Ed.2d 327 (1959). Since those illegally seized items should have been excluded from evidence, Williams’s conviction must be set aside. Accordingly, we reverse the order of the district court denying Williams’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus.