Peter Ramon, Jr. v. Hoyt C. Cupp, Warden Oregon State Penitentiary

Ramon is an Oregon state prisoner, convicted in 1965 for the possession of marijuana. His appeals through the Oregon courts resulted in rejection of his contention that evidence introduced at his trial was seized in violation of his Fourth Amendment rights. His petition for habeas corpus in the District Court was denied after an evidentiary hearing.

On August 17, 1965, a member of the police force of Baker, Oregon was informed that three people dealing in marijuana could be found at a certain bar. He went to the bar and struck up a conversation which led to his purchase of some marijuana from one of the three, not Ramon. By prearranged signal, all four (the three suspects and the police officer) were arrested for public intoxication. Ramon, one of the three arrested suspects, had left his automobile parked on the street near the bar. Instead of seizing the automobile immediately, the police decided to keep it under surveillance in the place where it was parked. Two days later the car was towed to the police garage and searched. Several packages of marijuana were discovered in the automobile, seized, and subsequently received as prosecution evidence in Ramon’s trial.

Ramon has…