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WA: State's failure to show how close defendant was to car was a failure of proof on search incident

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

State's failure to show how close the defendant was to his car at the time of the arrest is a failure of proof on proximity for search incident. State v. Webb, 2008 Wash. App. LEXIS 2381 (September 29, 2008), ordered published November 10, 2008: ¶16 Here, unlike in Adams, the trial court's findings do not address Webb's physical proximity to either the passenger compartment or his vehicle at the time of his arrest, a critical fact. In the absence of such a finding, the State has not borne its burden to show that the search of Webb's vehicle incident to his lawful arrest falls within an exception to the warrant requirement. ¶17 At the CrR 3.6 hearing, Officer Shipman testified that when he and Officer Reiner asked Webb to exit the vehicle, Webb staggered from his car to the sidewalk...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on November 20, 2008 (boomark / email).