Lustig v. United States

Background

A man staying in a Camden hotel room under an assumed name was investigated after the chambermaid reported suspicious noises and seeing what looked like money. Local police entered the room with a hotel key, searched bags and drawers, and found materials suggesting counterfeiting. A Secret Service agent, Greene, who had been told about the situation, came to the hotel before the search was finished, examined the uncovered items, and later received several of the articles for use in a federal counterfeiting prosecution.

Reasoning

The Court considered whether evidence gathered in a state search could be used in federal court when a federal agent took part before the search was completed. Relying on the rule that a federal official’s participation converts the search into a federal one, the majority concluded Greene had a hand in selecting and examining the evidence as the search proceeded. Because the agent joined the unlawful search before it ran its course, the Court held the evidence inadmissible in the federal prosecution and reversed the conviction.

Real world impact

The ruling prevents federal prosecutors from using items that became part of a federal investigation when a federal agent joined an ongoing state search before it ended. It focuses on the agent’s practical participation, not just who first opened drawers. The decision instructs law enforcement that federal involvement during a state search can bar evidence in federal trials. This was a reversal of the lower courts’ rulings admitting the seized items.

Dissents or concurrances

One Justice agreed only with the judgment; another argued the Court should accept the trial court’s finding that the federal agent did not participate and would have affirmed the conviction.