Louise Lee and Lawrence Lewis v. United States

Lawrence Lewis was convicted, after a jury trial, of the offense of knowingly concealing and facilitating the trans- porta'tion of illegally imported narcotics, in violation of section 2(c) of the Narcotic Drugs Import and Export Act, 35 Stat. 614 (1909) as amended 21 U.S.C. § 174 (1964). Louise Lee, tried jointly with Lewis, was convicted of the offense of aiding and abetting the concealment of the same narcotics in violation of the same statute.

On this appeal Lewis and Miss Lee raise search and seizure questions. Pri- or to the trial Lewis and Miss Lee moved to suppress the narcotics on which their convictions were obtained, contending that this evidence had been obtained as the result of an unlawful search and seizure. The court, after an evidentiary hearing, denied the motions on several grounds. When the narcotics were offered in evidence at the trial, Miss Lee and Lewis objected on the grounds stated in their motions to suppress. Their objections were overruled and the narcotics were received in evidence.

The circumstances surrounding the search and seizure are not in dispute. On October 8, 1965 United States Customs Agent Thaine Ellis was informed by Leobardo Sandoval, a…