Hester v. United States

Hester v. United States
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued April 24, 1924
Decided May 5, 1924
Full case nameHester v. United States
Citations265 U.S. 57 (more)
44 S. Ct. 445; 68 L. Ed. 898; 1924 U.S. LEXIS 2577
Holding
"The special protection accorded by the Fourth Amendment to the people in their 'persons, houses, papers and effects', is not extended to the open fields."
Court membership
Chief Justice
William H. Taft
Associate Justices
Joseph McKenna · Oliver W. Holmes Jr.
Willis Van Devanter · James C. McReynolds
Louis Brandeis · George Sutherland
Pierce Butler · Edward T. Sanford
Case opinion
MajorityHolmes, joined by unanimous
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amend. IV

Hester v. United States, 265 U.S. 57 (1924), is a decision by the United States Supreme Court, which established the open-fields doctrine.[1] In an opinion written by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, the Court held that "the special protection accorded by the Fourth Amendment to the people in their 'persons, houses, papers and effects', is not extended to the open fields."[2]

  1. ^ Hester v. United States, 265 U.S. 57-59 (1924).
  2. ^ Hester, 265 U.S. at 59.