ABSTRACTS OF RECENT CASES.

The article presents abstracts of recent court cases in the U.S. as of September 1963. In Delaware, defendant Downing was convicted of third degree burglary, malicious mischief and attempting to burn, and defendants Downing and Therkildsen were convicted of conspiracy to commit malicious mischief. On the other hand, in People versus Harris, the defendant was convicted of possession of marijuana. On appeal, defendant contended that the evidence used against him had been illegally obtained while he was under unlawful arrest. The California District Court of Appeal affirmed, holding that where the arresting officers, without search or arrest warrants, went to a cleaning store to investigate alleged bookmaking activities and were granted permission to search the premises by the proprietor. In State versus Spino, the defendant was charged with second degree arson and the trial court sustained his contention that the statute was unconstitutional as an arbitrary and unreasonable exercise of the police power. In State versus Keating, the defendant was convicted of maliciously damaging a building by explosion. The Supreme Court of Washington affirmed, holding that even assuming arguendo that defendant's arrest was unlawful for lack of probable cause, his subsequent voluntary admissions and confessions were properly admitted in evidence, since the sole criterion of admissibility of such statements is their voluntariness.