Constitutional Places: How far is .7 miles from Bailey v. United States?

February 19th, 2013

Bailey v. United States considered whether the police could detain a defendant who had travelled roughly .7 miles from his home. The majority said they could not. The dissent, authored by Justice Breyer and joined by Justices Thomas and Alito said they could not.

So how far is 0.7 miles from 103 Lake Drive, Wyandanch, New York. This far, according to Justice Breyer’s “Appendix to opinion” in Bailey v. United States. Though, as a friend points out, .7 miles looks like a tiny distance when you have a HUGE map.

breyer-map

Justice Breyer sure does like appendixes. He included one this term in the house boat case, and famously in D.C . v. Heller.

Though on a more focused map, the route looks much longer:

Map


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