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CA2: NYPD's inventory policy satisfies Wells

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

NYPD's inventory policy satisfied Wells, even though it was not fully standardized. United States v. Lopez, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 23392 (2d Cir. November 10, 2008): It is true, without doubt, that the Court has stressed the need for a standardized policy. The Court has made it clear that a standardized policy is required so that inventory searches do not become "a ruse for a general rummaging in order to discover incriminating evidence." Wells, 495 U.S. at 4. The evidence adduced at the trial satisfied this standard. The unchallenged testimony of both Officer Arroyo and Sgt. Barrett established that there is a uniform standardized policy in the New York City Police Department to do a complete inventory search of the contents when a car is impounded...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on November 17, 2008 (boomark / email).