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TX8: Riding a bicycle without a helmet justified search incident

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Defendant’s search incident for riding a bicycle without a helmet was reasonable. State v. Portillo, 2010 Tex. App. LEXIS 3258 (Tex. App.–El Paso July 12, 2010): A peace officer may arrest an offender without a warrant for any offense committed in his presence or within his view. Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 14.01(b) (Vernon 2005). A search incident to an arrest permits officers to search a defendant, or areas within the defendant's immediate control, in order to remove any weapons that the arrestee may seek to use in order to resist arrest or effect escape. Chimel v. California, 395 U.S. 752, 763, 89 S.Ct. 2034, 2040, 23 L.Ed.2d 685 (1969); see McGee v. State, 105 S.W.3d 609, 615 (Tex. Crim. App. 2003). An arresting officer may also search for and seize any evidence on the arrestee's person in order to prevent its concealment or destruction...continue to full post

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