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NJ: No showing of exigency for automobile search, so suppressed

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Defendant was not arrested until after the search, so the search incident doctrine cannot apply. Instead, the automobile exception had to be considered, and there was no showing of exigency or that a telephonic warrant could not have been sought, so the search is suppressed. State v. Shannon, 2011 N.J. Super. LEXIS 20 (February 3, 2011): Here, there was no indication that the Asbury Park police officers did not have sufficient time to obtain a telephonic warrant pursuant to Rule 3:5-3(b). It was not late at night, the stop was in a residential area, and four police officers were initially present at the scene with defendant, who was alone. Raisin indicated that no one had approached the vehicle during the stop. Furthermore, there was no testimony elicited at the suppression hearing that suggested that the police officers or potential evidence in the car were in danger...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on February 04, 2011 (boomark / email).