BIG WIN FROM THE US SUPREMES; NO AUTOMATIC CAR SEARCHES
Wow, big win from the US Supremes. Justices Scalia and Thomas are the crucial votes in favor, Justices Breyer and Kennedy dissent. Remember New York v. Belton, 453 U.S. 454 (1981)? Once the police arrest a defendant. in a car, they can search the car automatically. The theory was that the defendant might be able to grab a weapon from inside the car even though the defendant was arrested, handcuffed, and in a police car. The Supremes say that’s not what they were saying in Belton. The Supremes say that the law now “authorizes police to search a vehicle incident to a recent occupant’s arrest only when the arrestee is unsecured and within reaching distance of the passenger compartment at the time of the search.”
Again, “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.” So the mere fact of an arrest in or near a car doesn’t give the police the right to search the interior of the car. Exceptions? Plenty. They can still search for evidence of the crime for which they arrested the defendant. Justice Scalia warns the police against the sham of claiming that they haven’t really arrested the defendant. They also don’t discuss inventory searches at all. This ruling affects a ton of cases and compels reversal of a slew of bad California cases.
Case: Arizona v. Gant; 2009 DJ DAR; DJ, 4/ /09; US Supremes
Source: http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/07-542.ZS.html
