Moore v. United States

Based solely on a confidential informant's tip that Moore possessed heroin in his apartment, police obtained a search warrant, raided the apartment, and found Moore lying on the floor near heroin; aside from the tip itself and testimony about it, there was no independent evidence Moore lived there or actually possessed the drugs. The prosecutor emphasized the tip in closing argument, and the judge expressly relied on its content as true in convicting Moore; a court of appeals rejected Moore's appeal, and he sought Supreme Court review, arguing all evidence against him rested on inadmissible hearsay.