In United States v. Lee (1927) 274 U.S. 559, a Coast Guard patrol boat followed a motorboat traveling "in a region commonly spoken of as Rum Row." (Id. at p. 560.) A boatswain shined a searchlight into the motorboat and saw cans of alcohol aboard. The Supreme Court determined that the act of shining a searchlight into the motorboat was "not prohibited by the Constitution" because it "is comparable to the use of a marine glass or a field glass." (Id. at p. 563.)