When they were stopped for evidence of a speeding violation, three
adult males and a sixteen-year-old girl, henceforth known as Jane Doe',
were accused of illegally possessing firearms. Two loaded handguns and a
machine gun (as well as a pound of heroin) were found in an automobile in
which they were riding when it was stopped for speeding. The guns had been
positioned crosswise in Jane Doe's open handbag on either the front floor
or front seat on the passenger side where she was sitting. All were jointly
tried in a New York state court on charges of illegally possessing these
All four defendants objected to the introduction of the guns into
evidence, arguing that the State of New York had not adequately
demonstrated a connection between themselves and the guns. When this
objection failed, the respondents then filed a habeas corpus petition in
Federal District Court, contending that they were denied due process of law
by the application of the statutory presumption.
The trial court overruled the four defendant's first objection,
relying on the presumption of possession created by a New York statute
providing that the presence of a firearm in an automobile is presumptive
evidence of its illegal possession by all persons then occupying the
vehicle, except when the firearm is found upon the person of one of the
occupants. The trial court also denied respondents' motion to dismiss the
charges on the alleged ground that such exception applied because the guns
Besides affirming the presumption of possession, given the
circumstances, the court also court concluded that the applicability of the
exception was a question of fact for the jury to decide, not to be decided
before the case went to the jury. In other words, the circumstances were
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