United States Department of Justice

“ The question is always whether, under the particular circumstances presented by the record, the officers acted reasonably. There is no mechanical rule forbidding reliance on information from an informant who has not previously been tested.
B. At least two elements were operative in the arrest of Toy, and the government need not and does not attempt to rely on either element alone to show that the officers acted reasonably.
1. The first factor was the statement of Hom Way to the agents that he had obtained an ounce of heroin the night before from Toy. ”

“ Petitioner James Wah Toy was sentenced to imprisonment for five years (R. 126) , and petitioner Wong Sun, as a second offender, to imprisonment for 10 years (R. 121, 124) .
The issues in this Court relate primarily to the trial court's refusal to exclude evidence as to statements made by petitioner Toy at the time of, and after, his arrest, narcotics found by the federal agents at the home of a third party (Johnny Yee) after they had arrested Toy, and formal confessions made by petitioners Toy and Wong Sun some days later, after they had been arraigned. ”

“ The government agrees with the court of appeals that the evidence introduced at the trial was detached from and not the product of the arrests. However, as pointed out in the government's brief in opposition, it is our initial position that that issue need not be reached because we believe that the judgments below may be sustained upon the ground that the arrests were lawful emergency arrests based upon probable cause. We discuss first our reasons for believing that the arrests were lawful, before turning to the grounds relied upon by the court of appeals. ”

“ Petitioners contend that the absence of affirmative evidence that the officer stated his purpose to arrest Toy brings the case within the prohibition of Miller v. United States, 357 U.S. 301. The language of Miller itself answers this contention. This Court there noted decisions (p. 309) "holding that justification for noncompliance [with the requirement of statement of purpose] exists in exigent circumstances, as, for example, when the officers may in good faith believe * * * that the person to be arrested is fleeing or attempting to destroy evidence. ”

“ In Nueslein the admissions made by the taxicab owner were admissions of guilt as to the very act which prompted the officers to make the illegal entry, and those admissions were made by an intoxicated man. Here, petitioner Toy, although knowing that the officers had found nothing of what they sought, deliberately and voluntarily sent them to Johnny Yee in order to divert suspicion from himself. It was Hom Way's accusation of Toy which caused Toy to send the officers to Yee's house, and Hom Way's accusation in no way stemmed from the illegal entry. ”

“ If the evidence is attributable to an intervening act of free will on the part of the defendant and not to the illegal government action, the evidence is admissible. Whether evidence can be said to be the result of the illegal action or of an independent act of free will requires a judgment based on the precise facts of a given case. ”

“ The agent had known Hom Way for six weeks and therefore had a basis for judging whether, under arrest, he would be likely to tell the truth or attempt to throw the agents off the scent. An investigator must have leeway to make an informed judgment as to the character of the persons with whom he must deal. ”

“ People v. Maddox, 46 Cal. 2d 301, 294 P. 2d 6."
C. In the case of the arrest of Wong Sun, probable cause for arrest was provided by the combined, consistent statements of Yee and petitioner Toy. Yee's accusation of "Sea Dog" (Wong Sun) as the supplier (with Toy) of his narcotics was significantly corroborated before the officers went to arrest Wong Sun. Yee's statement that he had been furnished heroin was substantiated by his actual possession of the drug. His surrender of the narcotics to the officers, without a search, was not attended by any unlawful conduct by the officers. ”