Samson v. California
While walking down the street in San Bruno, California, Samson was stopped and searched by a police officer. The search yielded a usable amount of methamphetamines, and Samson was arrested. Later, the arresting officer admitted he had no warrant and the only reason he searched Samson was that he knew the man was a parolee.Samson claimed that the search of his person was illegal and moved to have the methamphetamines declared inadmissible as evidence. The trial court denied his motion and the First Appellate District of the California Court of Appeals affirmed in an unpublished opinion. The court’s denial was based upon on earlier California Supreme Court case, People v. Reyes, which held that parolees have a diminished right of privacy and are always subject to police searches. The California Supreme Court denied Samson's cert petition.
The United States Supreme Court agreed to hear Samson’s case without costs. The outcome will likely hinge on the Court's interpretation of an earlier case, United States v. Knights, which addressed the diminished privacy rights of probationers, not parolees.
Question Presented:
Does the 4th Amendment prohibit police from conducting a warrantless search of a person who is subject to a parole search condition, where there is no
suspicion of criminal wrongdoing and the sole reason for the search is because the person is on parole?
Related Decisions:
United States v. Knights
People v. Reyes
