United States v. Quinn (475 U.S. 791)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided April 21, 1986 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 475 U.S. 791 · 106 S. Ct. 1623
- Decided
- April 21, 1986
- Term
- October Term 1985
- Vote
- 7–2
- Issue area
- Judicial Power
- Disposition
- Petition denied or appeal dismissed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Per Curiam. The writ of certiorari is dismissed as improvidently granted. Chief Justice Burger, with whom Justice Blackmun joins, dissenting. We granted certiorari to decide the following question: “Whether a defendant has a Fourth Amendment expectation of privacy that entitles him to challenge the search of a boat, which he had never personally used prior to the search and which had been out of his custody and control for two months at the time of the search, on the grounds that he was the owner of the boat and was a co-venturer in a criminal enterprise involving the use of the boat by others to smuggle marijuana in which he had a possessory interest.” The question presented is one of considerable significance. It frequently arises in criminal prosecutions because drug smugglers often purchase vessels or airplanes for others to use in criminal enterprises. Given the massive infusion of dangerous drugs into this country by water and air we have an obligation to decide the issue presented. The drug problem presents as great a danger to the United States as any foreign power or fiscal problem. hH Here are the uncontested facts: Having solicited one Hunt to assist in a drug-smuggling scheme, respondent Quinn purchased a 54-foot vessel — the Sea Otter — and gave possession to Hunt. Hunt took the Sea Otter to Colombia and picked up roughly 12,000 pounds of marijuana, which he then…
Excerpt of a 7,406-character opinion. The full text and citation network load in the interactive viewer above.