Kenneth C. Lockett v. United States

In October, 1965, at a place called Dry-town, Amador County, California, east of Sacramento, there was located a general store which housed a country post office. The portion devoted to the post office was in one corner of the store and at that place held stamps, post office forms, including money order forms, post office cash, and post office paraphernalia. The money order forms were kept in a cigar box in a safe.

In the early morning of October 10, 1965, a deputy sheriff of the county, accompanied by a Jackson City police officer, discovered that the door of the store had been opened and left ajar and on entering the building they discovered that the safe in the post office section had been opened and money and other articles taken from it. The cigar box and the postal money order forms were gone. Missing were 99 money orders bearing certain serial numbers and a seal or stamp used in issuing money orders.

Three days later, on October 13, 1965, the appellant and one Ehrig were arrested in Huntington Park, near Los Angeles, while attempting to cash one of the *170 money orders which had disappeared from the Drytown Post Office. United States postal inspectors were notified of…

(dissenting) :

I dissent and would remand for new trial.

I cannot agree that under Cooper v. State of California, 386 U.S. 58 (1967), this search was reasonable. Here the car was not in official custody, impounded as evidence incident to a forfeiture proceeding, as was the case in Cooper . Under those circumstances it is not the fact that the car had been engaged in unlawful activities that renders the war-rantless search reasonable. Rather, it is the fact that the car is in official custody, incident to proceedings by which the Government will acquire title to it, and in which the car itself will constitute evidence. “Search” under such circumstances is little more than inspection of property one expects to acquire or which the law has required one to impound and retain as evidence. There is no issue which the judgment of a magistrate need resolve to establish reasonableness. The relationship between the car and its custodians and the purpose of the custody renders the “search” mere routine.

To extend the authority for warrant-less search beyond such a case and into the area where the Government has not yet impounded and has no more than an apparent right to invoke forfeiture,…

390 F.2d 168 Kenneth C. LOCKETT, Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America, Appellee. No. 21276. United States Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit. Jan. 3, 1968, Rehearing Denied March 5, 1968. Roger M. Schrimp (argued), Modesto, Cal., Kenneth C. Lockett, Steilacoom, Wash., for appellant. Cecil F. Poole, U.S. Atty., James J. Simonelli, Special Asst. U.S. Atty., San Francisco, Cal., for appellee. Before CHAMBERS, POPE and MERRILL, Circuit Judges. POPE, Circuit Judge. 1 In October, 1965, at a place called Drytown, Amador County, California, east of Sacramento, there was located a general store which housed a country post office. The portion devoted to the post office was in one corner of the store and at that place held stamps, post office forms, including money order forms, post office cash, and post office paraphernalia. The money order forms were kept in a cigar box in a safe. 2 In the early morning of October 10, 1965, a deputy sheriff of the county, accompanied by a Jackson City police officer, discovered that the door of the store had been opened and left ajar and on entering the building they discovered that the safe in the post office section had been opened and money and other…