Weeks v. United States

E92226

Weeks v. United States is a landmark 1914 U.S. Supreme Court case that established the federal exclusionary rule, barring evidence obtained through unconstitutional searches and seizures from being used in federal prosecutions.


Statements (49)
Predicate Object
instanceOf Fourth Amendment case
United States Supreme Court case
criminal procedure case
landmark case
appliesTo federal criminal prosecutions
areaOfLaw constitutional law
criminal procedure
search and seizure
charge using the mails to transport lottery tickets
citation 232 U.S. 383
citationStyle Weeks v. United States, 232 U.S. 383 (1914)
constitutionalProvisionInterpreted Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution
country United States
court Supreme Court of the United States
decisionDate 1914-02-24
doctrine exclusionary rule (federal)
factSummary Federal officers twice entered Fremont Weeks’s home without a warrant and seized papers used to convict him of using the mails to transport lottery tickets.
fullName Weeks v. United States
holding Evidence obtained by federal officials through an unconstitutional search and seizure is inadmissible in federal criminal prosecutions.
The exclusionary rule applies to federal courts under the Fourth Amendment.
influenced Mapp v. Ohio
issue Whether evidence seized from a home without a warrant by federal officers can be used in a federal prosecution.
jurisdiction federal
legalPrinciple federal exclusionary rule
suppression of illegally obtained evidence
locationOfEvents Kansas City, Missouri
majorityOpinionBy William R. Day NERFINISHED
opinionAuthor Justice William R. Day
overruledInPartBy Mapp v. Ohio (to the extent Weeks limited the exclusionary rule to federal cases)
pageInUnitedStatesReports 383
party Fremont Weeks NERFINISHED
United States
petitioner Fremont Weeks NERFINISHED
precedentFor exclusion of illegally obtained evidence in federal courts
proceduralPosture review of a conviction in a federal district court
relatedCase Mapp v. Ohio
Silverthorne Lumber Co. v. United States
Wolf v. Colorado
remedyRecognized suppression of unconstitutionally seized evidence
respondent United States
result conviction reversed
searchType warrantless search of a home
shortName Weeks
significance Established that federal courts must exclude evidence obtained through unconstitutional searches and seizures.
First case in which the U.S. Supreme Court adopted the exclusionary rule for federal prosecutions.
subjectMatter use of evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment
volumeOfUnitedStatesReports 232
vote unanimous
yearDecided 1914

Referenced by (4)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Mapp v. Ohio
Wolf v. Colorado
relatedCase
Weeks v. United States ("Weeks v. United States, 232 U.S. 383 (1914)")
citationStyle
Weeks v. United States
fullName

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