Donald Chesley Wynn v. United States

Appellant entered the United States from Mexico at the port of entry at San Ysidro, California. He was driving a Lincoln automobile and was accompanined by a 17-year-old girl. Customs inspectors made the usual inquiry as to whether the appellant or his passenger were bringing any merchandise from Mexico, and both answered in the negative. A subsequent search of the vehicle disclosed 110 pounds of marijuana.

The appellant does not dispute the charge that he smuggled the marijuana from Mexico into the United States. He takes the position that a smuggler of marijuana is immune from prosecution, as the requirements of the Tariff Act of 1930, that a person entering the United States from a foreign country must disclose to the Customs authorities all merchandise he is bringing into the country, violates his Fifth Amendment rights. He asserts in his brief and in oral argument:

At the time the briefs were filed in this case, the Supreme Court had not decided Leary v. United States, 395 U.S. 6 , 89 S.Ct. 1532 , 23 L.Ed.2d 57 , but it had granted certiorari limited to two questions, i. e. (1) whether the registration and tax provisions in 26 U.S.C. Sections 4741 (a) and 4742 and 4744(a)…