Camara v. Municipal Court of the City and County of San Francisco (1966)
- Docket
- 92
- Decided
- 1966-01-01
- Category
- General
Summary
Question: Do §503 of the SFHC, which authorizes inspection of private dwellings without a warrant, and §507, which makes it a crime to refuse such an inspection, violate the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments? Conclusion: Yes. Justice Byron R. White, writing for a 6-3 majority, vacated the lower judgment. The Supreme Court held that Camara had a constitutional right to insist that the inspector obtain a warrant before searching his home. He also cannot be convicted for refusing to consent to the inspection. This decision overruled Frank v. Maryland<./i> Justice Tom C. Clark dissented, arguing that Frank v. Maryland settled the question and must be followed. Justice John M. Harlan and Justice Potter Stewart joined in the dissent