Michael George Bracco v. Amos E. Reed, Administrator, Oregon Corrections Division

Braceo was indicted by the Grand Jury in the Circuit Court of Multnomah County, Oregon, which charged him with possession of amphetamines in violation of O.R.S. § 167.207. Before trial he made a timely motion to suppress the evidence seized from a suitcase that was in the hotel room in which he was arrested. After a lengthy hearing, the court denied the motion to suppress. Bracco was convicted and appealed, arguing that the motion to suppress should have been granted. The Oregon Court of Appeals affirmed his conviction, State v. Bracco, 1973, 15 Or.App. 672 , 517 P.2d 335 , and the Oregon Supreme Court denied a hearing. Further state remedies were unavailable, see O.R.S. § 138.550(2), and Braceo petitioned the United States District Court for a writ of habeas corpus. That court granted the writ, holding that the seizure violated the Fourth Amendment.

In Stone v. Powell, 1976,-U.S.-, 96 S.Ct. 3037 , 49 L.Ed.2d - (1976), the Supreme Court held that:

If Stone v. Powell is applicable to this case, then we must reverse.

The question of retroactivity of a decision narrowing the rights of criminal defendants has not previously arisen. However, we perceive no reason why…