Summary of Draper v. United States, Supreme Court of United States (1959)

Petitioner/Defendant:- Draper; the defendant was arrested and convicted for transporting narcotics. The federal officer who arrested the defendant got detailed information about the defendant from a reliable informant. When the officer saw the defendant at the train station and after seeing that the defendant met the description, the officer arrested and searched the defendant and found the drugs. The defendant challenges the admissibility of this evidence and argues that this evidence was the result of his unlawful arrest.

Issue: Did the officer have probable cause and reasonable grounds to arrest the defendant?

Holding: Yes

Key Facts: The informat gave detailed informating such as the clothing, the walking style, etc. of the defendant.

Legal Reasoning: The court ruled that the Fourth Amendment requires probable cause to achieve what a reasonable officer would do under the given facts. The court stated that the informant was reliable, his description of the defendant and the crime was detailed, and the officers verified the facts before arresting the defendant. The court ruled that this gave the officers the probable cause and the reasonable grounds to arrest the defendant and the evidence was admissible because it was collected incident to a lawful arrest. The conviction was affirmed.