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NM reaffirms that its SI rule does not follow federal rule

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Officer's viewing of a loaded shotgun in a car on high school grounds was an exigent circumstance to enter the car and seize the gun. The search could not be justified as a search incident. State v. Rowell, 2008 NMSC 41, 2008 N.M. LEXIS 389 (June 26, 2008): [*19] In Gomez, this Court rejected a related but analytically different federal bright-line rule that condones warrantless probable cause searches of automobiles at any time or place, even if there is no rational basis for believing that taking the time to apply for a search warrant would compromise any legitimate law enforcement or public safety interests. Gomez, 1997 NMSC 6, PP 34-35. This federal blanket rule purportedly was based on the traditional exigent circumstances warrant exception, but the United States Supreme Court created a broadened categorical exception that did not require any inquiry into the true exigencies of a situation, so long as (1) there was probable cause for the search, and (2) the search took place in an automobile...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on July 28, 2008 (boomark / email).