Searching A Car - When Is It Authorized For Police To Do So

Things take place rather quickly after the police make an arrest. Normally, that person being detained doesn’t have enough time to take into consideration what his or her rights are simply because the instance is stressful. It is, thereby, important to become familiar with your rights any time you are arrested. If you're arrested in or close by your automobile then you'll need to understand how and also to what amount police officers can legally search your car or truck at the time of your charge.

In April 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in the case of Arizona v. Gant which clarified the power of law enforcement to conduct a search of a motor vehicle incident to an arrest. The Court decided that unless law enforcement possess a correctly executed search warrant for the auto during the time of the arrest, the fact that the police are only able to search the motor vehicle if:
· The suspect could possibly reach for a weapon.
· The suspect can potentially try to get rid of evidence; orrn · It may be reasonable for the authorities to believe that there is evidence in the motor vehicle that supports the wrongdoing for which someone is now being arrested.

The Court stressed that searches executed with no search warrant are presumptively illegal and therefore a search of a car incident to an arrest is an exception to that basic principle. Since a search of a auto incident to an arrest is an exception to the law, just restricted searches may be permissible.

This decision reduces the law enforcement community’s translation of the 1981 Supreme Court decision in New York v. Belton. Law enforcement, relying on the Belton decision, were normally searching the passenger area of motor vehicles whenever a driver or passenger of a motor vehicle was charged. This warrantless search was performed every time an arrest was made without any consideration to whether the defendant was in a posture to reach for a weapon or ruin evidence and without consideration as to if there seemed to be cause to think that there was evidence in the automobile supporting the arrest.

The Court's decision in Arizona v. Gant requires law enforcement officers to reconsider when they may rightfully search automobiles at the time of an arrest. To provide an example, if the suspect has been detained and is without risk in police custody then the first two exceptions would not make an application since it is no longer possible for the suspect to reach for a weapon or attempt to destroy evidence in the vehicle. If the third exception may apply depends on the purpose of the arrest. When the defendant is charged with a traffic offense which includes drunk driving, for example, then the authorities could not search the vehicle to find if there is evidence tied to a new burglary in the area because the defendant wasn't charged with a theft but rather for dui.

The Supreme Court's recent decision makes very clear that the earlier procedures of routine motor vehicle searches incident to an arrest is unlawful. Instead, searches may only occur in certain defined instances. It is a ruling that police have criticized and that criminal lawyers have appreciated.