Skip to main content

Search and Seizure: Supreme Court Limits Police Car Search Powers

Submitted by Phillip Smith on (Issue #582)
Politics & Advocacy

A narrowly divided US Supreme Court Tuesday refused to expand police search powers at the expense of privacy rights, ruling that police cannot search a suspect's vehicle after the suspect has been detained and arrested absent probable cause. The 5-4 decision came in Arizona v. Gant.

car search
In that case, Rodney Gant was a suspect in a drug investigation. As Tucson police surveilled a suspected drug house where they had come into contact with Gant earlier, Gant drove up and exited his vehicle. Having checked Gant's record after the earlier encounter, police knew he had an outstanding arrest warrant for driving with a suspended license. Police arrested and handcuffed Gant, then placed him in the back of a patrol car. Police then searched his vehicle, finding a gun and some cocaine. Gant was charged with and convicted of drug possession and sentenced to three years in state prison.

Before trial, Gant had sought to suppress the evidence against him, arguing it was the result of an unlawful search, but the trial judge denied that motion. Gant appealed the verdict, winning in the Arizona Supreme Court. The state of Arizona then appealed to the US Supreme Court.

To no avail. While the Supreme Court acknowledged police powers to make a search incident to arrest, the justices noted that the purposes of such searches were to ensure officer safety and the preservation of evidence. With the suspect cuffed in the back seat of a patrol car and with no reason to preserve any "evidence" of Gant's offense -- driving with a suspended license -- the court held that police needed a search warrant to conduct a search of his vehicle.

"Police may search a vehicle incident to a recent occupant's arrest only if the arrestee is within reaching distance of the passenger compartment at the time of the search or it is reasonable to believe the vehicle contains evidence of the offense of arrest," wrote Justice John Paul Stevens for the majority. "When these justifications are absent, a search of an arrestee's vehicle will be unreasonable unless police obtain a warrant or show that another exception to the warrant requirement applies."

A rare victory for the Fourth Amendment from the Roberts court.

Permission to Reprint: This content is licensed under a modified Creative Commons Attribution license. Content of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.

Comments

Anonymous (not verified)

Truncated subject title "There is a God or under Obama, the USSC may be on the road to recovery (of its sanity)
For thirty odd years (beginning with the "Burger-Rehnquist Court" http://www.wellesley.edu/Writing/Nixon/nixon_supremeCourt.html)
the USSC and lower courts have bent, deformed, spindled and mutilated arguments and facts to _justify_ police behavior on the streets to the point where the 4th Amendment is unrecognizable as _the Amendment_ which was intended and supposed to guarantee the privacy and solitude of every single human being within the United States.
Unfettered discretion in the hands of an angry guy with Batman/Lone Ranger/Lone Avenger issues dedicated to (if not wholly committed to) the _theological_ proposition of "putting away the bad guys" makes for a lethal legal cocktail and Constitutional "results" that would make the lineal thinking of Euclid, an Aristotle and a John Stuart Mills whirl.
For with this theological "mandate," all exaggeration, all lies, all selective memory is permitted and its corollary, all perjury/testilying is permitted. And throughout the land trial judges endorse and ratify the _words_ of these drug warriors who are agenda-free and "have no reason to lie..." We had moved into a parallel dimension of "Dirty Harry"-land.
Thus, has Prohibition corrupted our cops, our District Attorneys and our judges. And the Supreme Court apparently joined in this travesty, till it did some soul-searching 48 hours ago...
_Gant_ is a step in the right direction. Now let's end Prohibtion as the Netherlands did and truly move on into a more enlightened and Constitutional future.

Fri, 04/24/2009 - 3:43pm Permalink
kjs420 (not verified)

Does this mean that the many times I sat in their car going,"no, not there", I was being violated, and that evidence wasn't admissible, yet I paid the price. And, "in plain view" means "before" the search? Not after they tear the car apart for failure to signal? Wow. But, now they're gonna say, "starting now", even though it's been misapplied for years, doesn't mean it wasn't in effect at the time of said violation, just denied unlawfully by the courts, as in "due process".
If a law is misapplied, is it still a law? If the courts misuse their power to wrongfully convict a person, is it "oh well, oops", or lawsuit city.
I know, I'll ask a lawyer.

Fri, 04/24/2009 - 4:13pm Permalink
Anonymous (not verified)

Haw, Haw Haw! The cops take it in the shorts this time...

Fri, 04/24/2009 - 6:36pm Permalink
Anonymous (not verified)

I wish I had a roach for every time my car was searched over the last 35 years for such crimes as having MA plates, long hair, or for driving an old shit-box.

Fri, 04/24/2009 - 7:07pm Permalink
Anonymous (not verified)

I just speed down the highway and frankly I dont give a rats ass about no laws anymore and do you know something?When I dont care if I get caught or not I very rarely get stopped because what is absent is the "what am I gonna do if I get stopped"question .I actually dont hate the cops ,but what I do hate are the laws and the ass holes that make up all these "yank my chain laws in life".The point of creating all these laws is that it gives the cops the reason to pull you over if they want to and having a reason for doing so which they need in case you do have anything illegal.Here in N.J. they have seat belt laws,no talking on the phone laws,no tinted window laws,etc.Almost all cops,on duty or off break the laws that I just said.Why should I obey the laws if they dont???Search and seizure???In N.J. they take you to the police station under the pretense that there is a warrant out for you and as they are checking you out they are also going through your car while you are not there and after they "made a mistake"they give you a ride back to your car.My point is that whatever the courts rule the cops are going to just do an illegal search anyway because in the end if they lose they lost nothing and you lost by sitting in jail and getting a lawyer etc.and spending all your money. SCREW THE LAWS!!!!!!!!!

Fri, 04/24/2009 - 7:23pm Permalink
Reed Moran (not verified)

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Dickens... in reply to the claim a husband is responsible for his wife's actions...

Fri, 09/25/2009 - 4:07pm Permalink
Anonymous (not verified)

finally get to drive my car and not have to worry about cops tearin crap outta car for dressin with baggy clothes and hat sideways, and being young and what they call suspicious. Cops get bored and try to bust ppl well not no more. Ha Ha to all u aszhole cops and to the officers here to serve and protect not just busting anyone i salute u!

Fri, 04/24/2009 - 9:25pm Permalink
keith prater (not verified)

It is about time they did something right. Fuck the cops.

Sat, 04/25/2009 - 12:36am Permalink
Anonymous (not verified)

Yes! I'm (Kevin Gibbs) and I live in Elizabeth City,N.C.27909 my address is 407 West Cypress Street.I'm concerned about the multiple situations inwhich many individuals are violated their 4th Amendment right,but when the situation is brought up with an agency like;A.C.L.U.or other etc.it seems like no one can assist anyone with the assisstance and many individuals are convicted and sent to prison unlawfully.

Mon, 04/27/2009 - 11:35am Permalink
Rick (not verified)

what a bunch of liberal POS's!!   Don't worry, we'll just tow the vehicle and do an inventory search (you can pay the tow bill).  

You guys act like cops are out there searching law abiding citizens.   Most of you are clueless.  You should volunteer some time at the local PD or do a ride along and see what we're actually dealing with!!   If you liberals keep pushing this BS crime is going to get more and more violent!!   Like I said, most of you are CLUELESS what's actually happening on the streets!!

Fri, 01/14/2011 - 12:40am Permalink

Add new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.