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CA2: Trailer inherently mobile for automobile exception, even with its "legs" out

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

The automobile exception applies to a trailer not connected to a vehicle. It is still easily movable, and its ability to move on its own is not the question. United States v. Navas, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 4780 (2d Cir. March 8, 2010): In light of Howard's emphasis on inherent mobility and the practical concerns that animate the mobility rationale, the district court erred in its assessment of the trailer sans cab. It started by wrongly characterizing the automobile exception as "generally relat[ing] to some type of vehicle that is capable of moving on its own." Navas, 640 F. Supp. 2d at 267. However, when the Supreme Court introduced the mobility rationale in Carroll, it referenced "wagon[s]," which, like trailers, require an additional source of propulsion [*18] before they can be set in motion...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on March 09, 2010 (boomark / email).