Remembering the Story of Wong Sun v. United States
| Publication year | 2013 |
| Pages | 51 |
| Citation | Vol. 42 No. 3 Pg. 51 |
By Harvey Gee
Columns Historical Perspectives
About the Author
Harvey Gee is an inactive Colorado attorney currently practicing with the Federal Defenders of the Middle District of Georgia, Inc. He was a U.S. Supreme Court Fellows Program finalist in 2012 and is a former Deputy State Public Defender in Boulder. Readers who are interested in writing a Historical Perspectives article are encouraged to contact Frank Gibbard at (303) 844-5306 or frank_gibbard@ca10.uscourts.gov.
The case of Wong Sun v. United States[1] was a key U.S. Supreme Court opinion that for the first time applied the "fruits of the poisonous tree" doctrine to statements that were the product of an illegal search and not just to physical evidence. The case was part of the Supreme Court’s criminal procedure revolution during the 1960s.[2] It also serves as a fascinating mid-century snapshot of American attitudes toward Asian Americans in general, and toward the Chinese drug gangs that plagued San Francisco in particular. This article focuses on the defendants, police officers, and lawyers involved in this landmark case.
Asian Americans and Crime Policy
Historical studies of racial discrimination in the administration of justice tend to focus on African Americans and Latinos, with less attention paid to Asian Americans. At the time of Wong Sun, there was almost no empirical literature on the sentencing of Asian American defendants. Even today, studies focusing on discrimination toward Asian Americans in regard to criminal sentencing are few and far between. According to one 2010 California report, Asian Americans who are first-time ''Offenders charged with violent offenses or first-time offenders charged with miscellaneous offenses are more often sentenced to prison than similarly situated white offenders. [3]Another study, from 2003, reports that Asian, African American, and Hispanic defendants with similar criminal histories and facing similar charges have a higher probability of being sentenced to prison than white defendants. [4]
Wong Sun reminds us that not all landmark criminal cases were limited to defendants who are white, black, or brown. Asian Americans, like all other groups, are a part of the legal history and contemporary conversations about crime policy. Wong Sun has earned its place in a line of highly regarded cases that expanded the due process protections for criminal defendants. In fact, Wong Sun continues to be recognized as a seminal case by attorneys invited for membership in the Wong Sun Society, a select group of white-collar criminal lawyers who meet on a biannual basis at the American Bar Association White Collar Crime seminar in San Francisco. [5]
The Facts Behind Wong Sun
Wong Sun centered on a series of warrantless drug busts in San Francisco's Tenderloin and Richmond districts involving Chinese American defendants and Chinese American narcotics agents working undercover. It occurred during an eventful decade for America, and the crimes committed back then reflected the times. Though little is known about the role Chinese dealers played in the early days of the drug trade in San Francisco, some criminologists have asserted that Chinese sailors began to supply drug dealers in Chinatown who then sold to other ethnic groups. [6]It was a time when Chinese youth gangs were slowly forming in Chinatown and outlying areas, [7] and it was common practice for Chinese American federal agents to go undercover and conduct narcotics investigations in Chinatown. These agents often used informants to facilitate drug busts.[8]
Events Leading up to the Arrest
James Wah Toy and Wong Sun met at a Chinese holiday event in 1959 in Marysville, California. Toy drove Sun home, and during the drive, Toy learned that Sun could get heroin—in particular, that he could get a "piece" from a man named "Bill" for $450. After the first purchase, it became common practice for Toy to buy heroin from Sun at Toy’s Laundry. The two also drove several times to a man named Johnny Yee’s house in the Richmond District to deliver heroin to Yee.
The activities of Toy and Sun went undetected until the police were tipped off by an informant named Hom Way. After six weeks of surveillance, police arrested Way for possession of heroin. During his early-morning questioning, Way, who had never before been an informant, told the agents that he bought the heroin from "Blackie Toy, " who ran a laundry on Leavenworth Street. The record does not identify Toy and "Blackie Toy" as being the same person, though Toy did own a laundry on Leavenworth Street, in the City’s Tenderloin District.[9] The sign above the laundry said "Oye’s Laundry."
Without first getting an arrest warrant, federal agents arrived at the laundry and, with the other federal officers hiding, Federal Narcotics Agent Alton Wong rang the bell. When Toy answered and opened the door, Agent Wong told him that he was there to pick up his laundry. Toy told Agent Wong that the laundry was not open for business until 8:00 a.m., and told him to come back. At that point, Agent Wong flashed his badge and declared, "I am a federal narcotics agent." Toy then slammed the door and ran down the hallway to where his wife and child were sleeping in the family’s living quarters. Agent Wong and the other officers broke down the door and gave chase. When Toy reached into what police later discovered was an empty nightstand, Agent Wong drew his pistol and placed Toy under arrest. The following conversation occurred between Agent Wong and Toy in the bedroom:
Agent Wong: We understand you were furnishing narcotics to Hom Way.
Toy: No, I wasn’t.
Agent Wong: Well, we just talked to him. He is under arrest, and he says he got narcotics from you.
Toy: No, I haven’t been selling any narcotics at all. However, I do know somebody who has.
Agent Wong: Who?
Toy: Well, I only know him as Yee—don’t know his first name.[10]
On further questioning, Toy denied selling narcotics, but said that he knew that Yee was a drug dealer and told them where Yee lived. It turns out that Yee was Johnny Yee. Toy also told the officers that Yee had smoked some heroin at his residence the night before. He described Yee’s bedroom and said that Yee was holding about an ounce of heroin.
Again without obtaining an arrest warrant, agents proceeded to Yee’s home. They forced open the door when they got there, searched the house, and found Yee in a bedroom. After some discussion, Yee removed less than one ounce of heroin from a bureau drawer.
Yee and Toy were taken to the Office of the Bureau of Narcotics, where Yee revealed that the heroin was delivered four days before by Toy and another person, known as "Sea Dog, " who was later identified as Wong Sun. Agents then took Toy to Sun’s neighborhood, where Toy pointed out Sun’s apartment. Agent Wong testified that he rang the doorbell and was buzzed into the apartment. Once inside, he identified himself as an officer to a woman on the landing, and said he needed to see Sun. The woman turned out to be Sun’s wife, and she said Sun was in the back bedroom sleeping. At that point, admittedly without seeking any additional permission, agents climbed the stairs and entered the apartment, where they arrested Sun in the back room. A search of the premises turned up no illegal drugs.
Defense witnesses told a different story about the arrest at Sun’s apartment. Annie Leong, Sun’s sister-in-law, testified that in fact she, and not Sun’s wife, was the one who answered the door.[11] According to Leong, she told Agent Wong she was the owner of the house. In her account, she said Agent Wong thanked her and she thought he was leaving.[12] Leong further testified that when she turned to go back upstairs, someone grabbed her and pulled her into the bedroom where Sun and his wife were sleeping, after which the six agents rushed in.[13] Only then did Agent Wong formally identify himself as a narcotics agent looking for Sun.[14]
Arraignment and Interrogations
Toy and Yee were arraigned before a U.S. Commissioner on June 4, 1959, on charges of transporting and concealing narcotics in violation of 21 USCA § 174, as well as conspiring to do so.[15] They were released on their own recognizance. Sun was arraigned the next day, on the same charges, and was released.
A few days later, Toy and Sun were interrogated at the Bureau of Narcotics by a different Agent Wong (Agent William Wong). It is unclear whether the interrogations took place in Chinese or in English. Even though Miranda v. Arizona[16] would not be decided for another seven years, Agent William Wong said that he advised both of them of their right to withhold information that could be used against them, and that they were entitled to advice of counsel. Agent Wong also explained that there were no offers of leniency for cooperation.
At least according to Agent Wong, both defendants admitted their involvement in supplying the heroin found on Hom Way’s person and in Yee’s bedroom. Agent Wong translated these statements into rough notes, and then prepared typed written statements, in English, based on those notes. He then read the typed statements to the defendants in English and translated some parts into Chinese, again keeping the defendants separate. Both Toy and Sun declined to sign the statement; however, according to Agent Wong, Sun...
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