Source: https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/557/40/272938/
Timestamp: 2019-10-14 12:51:05
Document Index: 543691762

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 7607', '§ 7607', '§ 183', '§ 300', '§ 21', '§ 7607', '§ 3041', '§ 3731', '§ 3731']

United States of America, Appellant, v. Manfred Swarovski, Appellee, 557 F.2d 40 (2d Cir. 1977) :: Justia
Justia › US Law › Case Law › Federal Courts › Courts of Appeals › Second Circuit › 1977 › United States of America, Appellant, v. Manfred Swarovski, Appellee
United States of America, Appellant, v. Manfred Swarovski, Appellee, 557 F.2d 40 (2d Cir. 1977)
US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit - 557 F.2d 40 (2d Cir. 1977) Argued Feb. 16, 1977. Decided May 31, 1977
Section 127.05(a), however, does not constitute specific statutory authority to make warrantless arrests and such power "is not a natural incident derived from the catalogue of (an agent's) duties but must be separately granted by the act of a sovereign." United States v. Heliczer, 373 F.2d 241, 245 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 388 U.S. 917, 87 S. Ct. 2133, 18 L. Ed. 2d 1359 (1967). The only specific and express federal statutory authorization for customs agents to make warrantless arrests is in 26 U.S.C. § 7607 and concerns violations of federal laws relating to narcotics and marihuana. Therefore, "the law of the state where an arrest without warrant takes place determines its validity" and thus "the New York statute provides the standard by which this arrest must stand or fall." United States v. DiRe, 332 U.S. 581, 589, 591, 68 S. Ct. 222, 226, 92 L. Ed. 210 (1948) (emphasis supplied. See also, United States v. Watson, 423 U.S. 411, 420-21 n. 8, 96 S. Ct. 820, 46 L. Ed. 2d 598 (1976); United States v. Rosse, 418 F.2d 38, 39 (2d Cir. 1969), cert. denied, 397 U.S. 998, 90 S. Ct. 1143, 25 L. Ed. 2d 408 (1970); United States v. Heliczer, supra, 373 F.2d at 244-45.
The district court held, ". . . that the arrest of Swarovski by customs agents at J.F.K. Airport on April 3, 1975 was illegal because the agents lacked any authority to make the arrest." It cited United States v. Watson, supra, 423 U.S. at 420-21, 96 S. Ct. 820, for the general proposition that in the absence of specific federal statutory authority for customs agents to make warrantless arrests for offenses other than those enumerated in 26 U.S.C. § 7607, authority must be found in the law of the state where an arrest without a warrant takes place, to be valid. The district court concluded that the State of New York has no such law, that the arrest of the defendant Swarovski was unlawful, and that all post-arrest statements by him to the agents must be suppressed as fruits of an illegal arrest.2 It also concluded that the decisions by this court in United States v. Burgos, 269 F.2d 763 (2d Cir. 1959), cert. denied, 362 U.S. 942, 80 S. Ct. 808, 4 L. Ed. 2d 771 (1960); United States v. Viale, 312 F.2d 595 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 373 U.S. 903, 83 S. Ct. 1291, 10 L. Ed. 2d 199 (1963); United States v. Heliczer, supra, and United States v. Rosse, supra, which held that federal officials who had no federal arrest authority, could, as private citizens, arrest in the State of New York a person who has in fact committed a felony, were erroneously decided because the panels deciding them "do not seem to have focused closely upon New York statutes which carefully define and limit a citizen's power of arrest." The district judge said, ". . . the New York Penal Law simply does not include federal crimes within its carefully framed definitions of 'felony' and 'offense'." The Government, on the other hand, cites the same decisions of this court as governing authorities for upholding the validity of the arrest.
From 1881 to September 1, 1971, the Code of Criminal Procedure in § 183 (which, in effect, codified the common law3 ) authorized arrests without warrants by any person in the State of New York of anyone who was committing or who had just committed a felony. This power was exercised in the State by "universal practice," whether the criminal action was a felony under the laws of New York or under the laws of the United States. United States v. Lindenfeld, 142 F.2d 829 (2d Cir. 1944) (Circuit Judges Swan, A. Hand, and Clark, writer of the opinion); Marsh v. United States, 29 F.2d 172 (2d Cir. 1928) (opinion by L. Hand with Swan and A. Hand, Circuit Judges) .
"Initially, there can be no doubt that defendant was lawfully arrested, even though the agents possessed no warrant. The law is clear that any person, law enforcement officer or private citizen, can make an arrest where a felony has in fact been committed, and the person making the arrest has probable cause for so believing. United States v. Gowen, 2 Cir., 40 F.2d 593, reversed on other grounds in Go-Bart Importing Co. v. United States, 282 U.S. 344, 51 S. Ct. 153, 75 L. Ed. 374; Carroll v. United States, 267 U.S. 132, 45 S. Ct. 280, 69 L. Ed. 543, 39 A.L.R. 790; Brady v. United States, 6 Cir., 300 F. 540, certiorari denied 266 U.S. 620, 45 S. Ct. 99, 69 L. Ed. 472; Pritchett v. Sullivan, 8 Cir., 182 F. 480; cf. also 5 U.S.C.A. § 300a, codifying the common law with regard to arrests by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and A.L.I. Code of Criminal Procedure, 1930, § 21, and commentary, pp. 231-238. And the agents here certainly had more than probable cause for believing that defendant had just committed a felony." 142 F.2d 829, at 831-2. (Footnote omitted.) (This case concerned an arrest and prosecution for illicit sales of morphine, but took place long before the enactment of 26 U.S.C. § 7607 on July 18, 1956.)
The leading Supreme Court cases on this subject are, in chronological order, United States v. DiRe, supra, and United States v. Watson, supra. It should first be noted that DiRe was a case in which the suspect was arrested by a New York state officer for a federal crime. The Government had argued that the "validity of an arrest without a warrant for a federal crime is a matter of federal law . . . ." The Court ruled, however, "that in absence of an applicable federal statute the law of the state where an arrest without warrant takes place determines its validity." 332 U.S. at 589, 68 S. Ct. at 226. It went on to say:
"By one of the earliest acts of Congress, the principle of which is still retained, the arrest by judicial process for a federal offense must be 'agreeably to the usual mode of process against offenders in such state.' (Footnote omitted; see footnote 4, ante, for Title 18 U.S.C. § 3041, present version of "Act of September 24, 1789.") There is no reason to believe that state law is not an equally appropriate standard by which to test arrests without warrant, except in those cases where Congress has enacted a federal rule." 332 U.S. at 589-90, 68 S. Ct. at 226. (Emphasis added.)
Although the original Act of September 24, 1789, above cited, was entitled "concerning arrest with warrant" and, although many of the arrests made pursuant to it would call for a warrant, there was no such requirement in the case before us. The felonious acts were performed in the sight and presence of the citizen or private person who made the arrest. Probable cause, therefore, is implicit in the circumstances and is not an issue. On these facts the arresting agent, as a private person, had the authority, pursuant to and within the standard adopted and used by the State of New York, to arrest the offender without a warrant, United States v. Watson, supra, 423 U.S. at 414-424, 96 S. Ct. 820.
Although Title 18 U.S.C. § 3731, which authorizes the Government to appeal from the granting by the district court of a motion to suppress, makes no provision for a cross-appeal by the accused, he may assert grounds for affirming the order of suppression. Dandridge v. Williams, 397 U.S. 471, 475-76 n. 6, 90 S. Ct. 1153, 25 L. Ed. 2d 491 (1970); United States v. Finn, 502 F.2d 938, 940 (7th Cir. 1974); United States v. Moody, 485 F.2d 531, 534 (3rd Cir. 1973). Included in the motion to suppress was the petition to have excluded from the real evidence the camera and documents seized from Swarovski's bags, and also his post-arrest statements which he claims were procured in violation of his Miranda rights. He also argued that the search and seizure of his bags violated his Fourth Amendment rights as did his arrest, because made without a warrant. The defendant's arguments before this court concerning the legality of the search of his luggage at the airport are not independent grounds supporting the district court's suppression of the post-arrest statements and therefore cannot be raised on the Government's § 3731 appeal. The other arguments by the defendant asserted in support of the suppression order have no merit and require no further comment.
United States v. Gowen, 40 F.2d 593 (2d Cir. 1930), reversed on other grounds, sub nom. Gobart Importing Co. v. United States, 282 U.S. 344, 51 S. Ct. 153, 75 L. Ed. 374 (1931)