Winston v. Lee

Winston (plaintiff) exchanged gunfire with a shop owner and was shot in the chest. The shop owner identified him in the emergency room, and he was charged with attempted robbery and other offenses. Before trial, the state (defendant) moved to compel surgery to remove the bullet from Winston's chest for use as evidence, and the trial judge granted the motion. After the state courts denied relief, Winston sought a federal injunction on Fourth Amendment grounds. The district court found the surgery unreasonable but declined a preliminary injunction, doubting his ultimate success; a later X-ray showed the bullet lodged deeper than thought. The court of appeals affirmed that the surgery would be an unreasonable seizure, and the state sought Supreme Court review.

Whether a compelled surgical procedure under general anesthetic, undertaken to obtain criminal evidence, constitutes an unreasonable search under the Fourth Amendment.