Cupp v. Murphy
| Cupp v. Murphy | |
|---|---|
| Argued March 20, 1973 Decided May 29, 1973 | |
| Full case name | Cupp, Penitentiary Superintendent v. Daniel Murphy |
| Citations | 412 U.S. 291 (more) 93 S. Ct. 2000; 36 L. Ed. 2d 900; 1973 U.S. LEXIS 63 |
| Holding | |
| In view of the station house detention upon probable cause, the very limited intrusion undertaken to preserve highly evanescent evidence was not violative of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Stewart, joined by Burger, White, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell, Rehnquist |
| Concurrence | White |
| Concurrence | Marshall |
| Concurrence | Blackmun, joined by Burger |
| Concurrence | Powell, joined by Burger, Rehnquist |
| Dissent | Douglas |
| Dissent | Brennan |
Cupp v. Murphy, 412 U.S. 291 (1973), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court upheld a murder conviction notwithstanding a challenge that the evidence upon which guilt was based was obtained in violation of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution. The court held that in view of the station-house detention upon probable cause, the very limited intrusion of scraping the defendant's fingernails for blood and other material, undertaken to preserve highly evanescent evidence, did not violate the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments.
Justice Stewart wrote for the majority. Based on this decision, it is permissible for police officers to conduct a limited search on a defendant when they believe that the defendant is likely to destroy evidence, provided that the search is limited to vindicating the purpose of preserving evidence.