Wolff v. Rice

Rice and a co-defendant (defendants) were convicted in state court on evidence they had unsuccessfully moved to suppress, having fully litigated their Fourth Amendment claims through the state appellate process; they then sought federal habeas corpus review of those same search-and-seizure claims. The federal courts of appeals held they were entitled to a fresh federal review despite the prior full state-court consideration.

Whether a defendant convicted of a crime in state court is entitled to federal habeas corpus review of Fourth Amendment claims that have received a full and fair review in the state courts.