Opinion ID: 337716
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The illegal arrest contention

Text: 50 Both Lupo and Szwandrak contend that their statements should have been suppressed as the fruits of an illegal arrest. They contend that the forthwith subpoena was used as the substitute for an arrest warrant, and as a means for subverting the requirement that a judicial officer make a probable cause determination prior to issuing an arrest warrant. Fed.R.Crim.P., Rules 4, 9. Under Rule 17, Fed.R.Crim.P., the clerk issues subpoenas in blank. 51 We recognize that the misuse of forthwith grand jury subpoenas issued in blank pursuant to Rule 17 may circumvent the more rigorous procedural requirements of Rules 4 and 9. But there are several difficulties with the argument of Lupo and Szwandrak that such putative misuse justifies suppression in this case. First, service of the forthwith subpoenas took place at a time when the government already had a statement from Kuczynski establishing probable cause for the arrest of both of them. In United States v. Watson, 411 U.S. 423, 96 S.Ct. 820, 46 L.Ed.2d 598, 44 U.S.L.W. 4112 (1976), the Court held that where probable cause for arrest exists the fourth amendment does not require a warrant even where, as here, there is ample time to obtain one. It is true that the authority of FBI agents to arrest without a warrant is limited to cases where they have reasonable cause to believe that the person to be arrested has committed a felony. 18 U.S.C. § 3052. Henry v. United States, 361 U.S. 98, 80 S.Ct. 168, 4 L.Ed.2d 134 (1959). We have held above that the government proved only an offense punishable as a misdemeanor. But the standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt is considerably higher than that of 18 U.S.C. § 3052: reasonable grounds to believe that the person to be arrested has committed a felony. Probably the information already in hand from Kuczynski sufficed to justify an arrest without a warrant. Cf. Draper v. United States, 358 U.S. 307, 313-14, 79 S.Ct. 329, 3 L.Ed.2d 327 (1959). 52 We need not rest our holding that neither Lupo's nor Szwandrak's confession was the fruit of an illegal arrest upon the recent decision in Watson. 14 In connection with the suppression motions, the district court found as a fact that neither Lupo nor Szwandrak were under any restraint whatsoever at the time they gave their incriminating statements to the FBI agents. See 18 U.S.C. § 3501(d). The court's finding, based on credibility judgments, cannot be disregarded. Government of the Virgin Islands v. Gereau,502 F.2d 914 (3d Cir. 1974), cert. denied, 420 U.S. 909, 95 S.Ct. 829, 42 L.Ed.2d 839 (1975). For purposes of this appeal there was no arrest legal or illegal.