United States v. Ramsey (1977)

United States v. Ramsey
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued March 30, 1977 Decided Jun 6, 1977
Full case name	United States v. Charles W. Ramsey et al.
Docket no.	76-167
Citations	431 U.S. 606 (more) 97 S. Ct. 1972; 52 L. Ed. 2d 617
Case history
Prior	Conviction reversed, 538 F.2d 415 (D.C. Cir. 1976); cert. granted, 429 U.S. 815 (1976).
Subsequent	Conviction affirmed, 561 F.2d 1022 (D.C. Cir. 1977); cert. denied, 434 U.S. 1062 (1978).
Holding
The search of letters or envelopes from foreign countries falls under the border exception to the Fourth Amendment.
Court membership
Chief Justice Warren E. Burger Associate Justices William J. Brennan Jr. · Potter Stewart Byron White · Thurgood Marshall Harry Blackmun · Lewis F. Powell Jr. William Rehnquist · John P. Stevens
Case opinions
Majority	Rehnquist, joined by Burger, Stewart, White, Blackmun, Powell
Concurrence	Powell
Dissent	Stevens, joined by Brennan, Marshall
Laws applied
Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution

United States v. Ramsey, 431 U.S. 606 (1977), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held the search of letters or envelopes from foreign countries falls under the border exception to the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures.^[1]