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Vehicle Searches by Police

By Lependorf & Silverstein

The U.S. Supreme Court, in a recent ruling in the case of Arizona v. Gant, ruled that police may search the passenger compartment of a vehicle incident to a recent occupant?s arrest only if it is reasonable to believe that the arrestee might access the vehicle at the time of the search or that the vehicle contains evidence of the offense of arrest. In this case, Gant was arrested for driving on a suspended license, handcuffed, and locked in a patrol car before officers searched his car and found cocaine in a jacket pocket. Gant was charged with drug offenses. His attorney filed a motion to suppress the evidence claiming that the police conducted an impermissible warrantless search. The trial court denied his motion to suppress the evidence and he was convicted of drug offenses...continue to full post

Full post as published by New Jersey Criminal Defense Blog on May 06, 2009 (boomark / email).