New-York tribune., 1921-06-29
Mayor Calls
Police Off
Liquor Hunt
Continued from page cne>


premises or persons, or their bags,
packages or automobiles without war
rant, unless there has first been law
full arrest. 1t is proper at this point
for me to explain the law of arrest and
search, as it forms part of the reasons
<or my opinion.
"The power of peace officers to search
the person or the premises of one ar
rested for a crime to procure property
connected with or as evidence Of a
crime has been upheld where the search
is made at the time of an arrest which
is made upon process or is otherwise
lawful, but this is not authority for
searches of persons or property by an
officer who does not know that crime
has been committed and solely for the
purpose of ascertaining that fact
Power to Make Arrests
"a police officer has right to make
an arrest without warrant only %
for a crime committed or attempted
in his presence, (2) when q person ar
rested has committed felony and {3)
when felony has in fact been COM
mitted and there is reasonable cause
for believing that the person arrested
committed It. These rules are con-
tanned in the provisions of Section III
of the Code of Criminal Procedure,
which are substantially reGnactments
of the common law; and the general
provisions of Section liza of the Code
of Criminal Procedure, added to Chap
ter 156 of the Laws OF 1921, imposing
upon peace officers the duty of enforc-
ing Article 113 of the Penal law, does
not change the laws of arrest and
search.
"The Attorney General of this state
recently rendered an opinion that
peace officers have no right to stop
veyances for the purpose of discover
ing violations of the aforesaid prohi-
bition enforcement statutes, and I am
convinced that the Attorney General
was correct in his conclusions"
Constitutional Limitations
The Corporation Counsel cited de-
clsions to sustain his opinion and con-
tinUed:
"The contention is that the Legisla
ture, in the enactment of the prohibi
tion enforcement statutes, had in con-
temptation the provisions of the Fourth
Amendment to the Federal Constitu-
tion, as we'll as the substantially SINH
lar provisions of Section 8 of the civil
rights laws of this state. and also those
of Section 1893 of the Cope of Criminal
Procedure, which prohibit unreason-
able searches and seizures, and pre-
scribe the exclusive procedure to be
followed in the issuance of a search
warrant; and that, inasmuch as the
United States Constitution has invest
ed the Congress and the several states,
IN the same sentence, with concurrent
| power to enforce national prohibition,
| the power thus returned to the several
| states can be no greater than the
power granted to Congress, and must
therefore be subject to the same con-
stitutonal limitations. The conclusion
| reached by those holding this view is
that any united action taken in giving
effect to the Eighteenth Amendment
and the legislation of Congress enact
| ed to make it completely operative by
national and state administrative
| agencies will be affected in this state
by the identical constitutional and
statutory limitations upon the power of
arrest and search found in the Federal
| Constitution and the civil rights law
| of this state.
! indicated, that the police are not in
| vested by the Mullan-Gage law with
| the power to search premises or per-
| sons or their bags, packages or auto
| mobiles without a warrant, unless
there has first been lawful arrest"
! Before the Mayors order went into
effect yesterday the police arrested a
number of persons without the formal
| 1ty OF warrants.
Whiskey on Truck Seized \
The police of the West Forty-sevent
| Street station reported they found six
| teen gallon cans of what appeared
to be whisky loaded on truck in front
of 536 West Fifty-third Street. Three
men arrested gave their names as
Thomas Marmo, of Paterson, N. J.;
Michael Tierney, of 556 West Fifty
third Street, and William Woltmann.
| of 558 West Fifty-third Street. Marmo
said he had been invited at Paterson
to go on picnic to Coney Island and
that the truck was stopped in Manhat-
| tan to take cans of oil. The police saw
| that at Woltmann's apartment they
found barrel partly filled with LIQUOR.
The men were held to the grand jury.
The odor of whisky caused Acting
Captain James Edwards, of the Green
point Avenue station, Brooklyn, to ar
rest four men without warrant. The
men were in an automobile at Dupont
Street and Manhattan Avenue. The off,
Ger declared that he found in the auto
mobile three kegs of whisky and two
tlve-gallon cans containing liquor. Mag
lstrate Short In the Bridge Plaza court
held M6rtin Ninson, Conrad Ritton, Wal