John Harold Howell v. Hoyt C. Cupp, Warden

This is an appeal by John Harold Howell from the dismissal of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Petitioner was convicted of burglary not in a dwelling at jury trial in the Lane County, Oregon, Circuit Court in 1963. His conviction was affirmed by the Oregon Supreme Court. State v. Howell, 237 Or. 382 , 388 P.2d 282 (1964). After exhausting state remedies, Howell petitioned the District Court for a writ of habeas corpus. Following an evidentiary hearing, the petition was dismissed on June 18, 1969, and Howell now appeals from that dismissal.

Howell’s sole contention on appeal is that the warrantless search of the interior and trunk of his automobile and the seizure of items therein which were introduced as evidence at trial violated the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution which forbid federal or state governments from convicting one of crime by using evidence obtained from him by unreasonable searches and seizures. Boyd v. United States, 116 U.S. 616, 630 , 6 S.Ct. 524 , 29 L.Ed. 746 (1886); Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643 , 81 S.Ct. 1684 , 6 L.Ed.2d 1081 (1961).

The facts of the search are as follows: On November 19, 1962, at 4:00 a. m., petitioner was…