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Supreme Court Limits L.A. Police Vehicle Searches

By Steven Rodriguez

In a new ruling in an Arizona case, the U.S. Supreme Court has called a halt to what some justices called 28 years of unconstitutional police search and seizure practices in the U.S. In a 5-4 ruling, the court ruled that once a suspect has been handcuffed or placed in a police cruiser, police cannot search the passenger compartments of the suspect’s vehicle without a warrant. The court ruled that the only instances in which a vehicle can be searched without a warrant are: If the officer has reason to believe that the suspect might destroy evidence or reach for a weapon. If the officer has reason to suspect that the vehicle contains evidence of the offense that precipitated the arrest. If there is probable cause for a search, such as the smell of marijuana or alcohol or visible contraband...continue to full post

Full post as published by LA Criminal Defense Blog on April 24, 2009 (boomark / email).