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VA: Four cases in one day: Gant not preserved; "right result, wrong reason"

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Defendant’s vehicle was searched incident to his arrest for public intoxication, and it was [supposedly] valid at the time. Gant was decided after, and the question of search incident was never raised until appeal, so Gant can’t apply. McGhee v. Commonwealth, 2010 Va. LEXIS 260 (November 4, 2010).* The officer received an anonymous tip that defendant had warrants for his arrest which was confirmed by dispatch, while he didn’t know whether they were for misdemeanors or felonies, that did not matter. The corroboration of a tip here would have to be applied differently than a tip of facts justifying a stop rather than existence of an arrest warrant. Sidney v. Commonwealth, 2010 Va. LEXIS 272 (November 4, 2010).* The “right result, wrong reason” doctrine saves this search of defendant’s person because the officer actually had probable cause before the patdown...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on November 06, 2010 (boomark / email).