Rusty
Regular Member
imported post
Just came across this, and did not see much info on it in these forums. Thought you may all be interested.
This decision is recent, (April 21, 2009), so it is likely that most LEO's are not that clear on it yet.
Basic case was: Police came to a house looking for owner, and made contact with a renter (Gant). Gant told LEO's that owner was not home and would be back later.
LEOs leave, but run Gant and determine he has a suspended license. They come back later but Gant is not there, however Gant drives up a few minutes later. Gant exits his car and walks over to officers, who arrest him for Driving on a suspended license. Gant is handcuffed and placed in the back of a police cruiser. LEOs then search his car (incident to arrest) and find Cocaine and a firearm.
And the finding of the court was:
*EDIT: This is a SCOTUS decision.
*EDIT: Added emphasis
Just came across this, and did not see much info on it in these forums. Thought you may all be interested.
This decision is recent, (April 21, 2009), so it is likely that most LEO's are not that clear on it yet.
Basic case was: Police came to a house looking for owner, and made contact with a renter (Gant). Gant told LEO's that owner was not home and would be back later.
LEOs leave, but run Gant and determine he has a suspended license. They come back later but Gant is not there, however Gant drives up a few minutes later. Gant exits his car and walks over to officers, who arrest him for Driving on a suspended license. Gant is handcuffed and placed in the back of a police cruiser. LEOs then search his car (incident to arrest) and find Cocaine and a firearm.
And the finding of the court was:
Police may search a vehicle incident to a recent occupant’s arrest only if the arrestee is within reaching distance of the passenger compartment at the time of the search or it is reasonable to believe the vehicle contains evidence of the offense of arrest. When these justifications are absent, a search of an arrestee’s vehicle will be unreasonable unless police obtain a warrant or show that another exception to the warrant requirement applies.
*EDIT: This is a SCOTUS decision.
*EDIT: Added emphasis