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S.D.Iowa: Automobile exception search is not limited to the specific PC that authorized it; when object found, search did not have to end

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

While officers searched car on specific PC for a weapon and found it, officers were not precluded from ending the search with that. Other evidence could have been found and was. United States v. Casteel, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 65328 (S.D. Iowa July 29, 2009): The Court finds that Agent White's testimony undercuts any reasonable belief that the Bonneville contained either additional firearms or ammunition because his conclusions were based upon personal interactions with Defendants, which the Court finds far more credible than generic training and experience. The Court, nevertheless, finds that Agent Kessler had probable cause to search the Bonneville, even after finding the two weapons Tiran Casteel bought, because a fair probability existed that paperwork evidencing this crime or other crimes would be found in the car...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on July 31, 2009 (boomark / email).