The Law Regarding Searches of Autos at the Time of Arrest

Things happen swiftly after the police make an arrest. Generally, that person being charged does not have enough time to take into account what her rights might be since the situation is intimidating. It is, therefore, imperative that you know about your rights if you are arrested. For those who are detained in or close to your vehicle then you'll need to be familiar with how and also to what amount the police can lawfully search your vehicle in the course of your arrest.
 
In April 2009, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision in the matter of Arizona v. Gant which clarified the power of the authorities to perform a search of a car incident to an arrest. The Court determined that unless law enforcement have a properly executed search warrant for the motor vehicle during the time of the arrest, that the police can only search the vehicle if:
 
· The suspect might grab a weapon.
· The suspect could possibly try and destroy evidence; or
· It's justifiable for the police to think there is evidence in the motor vehicle that supports the wrongdoing that that person is being detained.
 
The Court emphasized that searches carried out without getting a search warrant are presumptively unlawful and that a search of a car or truck incident to an arrest is an exception to that standard rule. Considering that a search of a vehicle incident to an arrest is an exception to the principle, only very limited searches may be authorized.
 
This decision limits the law enforcement community’s interpretation of the 1981 Supreme Court decision in New York v. Belton. Officers, relying on the Belton verdict, had been typically searching the passenger area of vehicles anytime a driver or passenger of a automobile was arrested. This warrantless search was performed whenever an arrest was made without any consideration to whether the defendant was in a situation to grasp for a weapon or damage evidence and without any regard as to if there seemed to be valid reason to think that there was evidence in the motor vehicle supporting the arrest.
 
The Court's decision in Gant calls for police officers to reexamine when they may rightly search cars at the time of an arrest. For instance, when the suspect has been charged and is safely in police custody then the first two exceptions wouldn't make an application since it is no longer conceivable for the defendant to reach for a weapon or aim to eliminate evidence in the motor vehicle. Whether the third exception could apply would depend on the reason for the arrest. When the suspect is charged with a traffic offense for instance driving drunk, for example, then the police officers could not search the auto to find out if there is evidence to do with a current robbery nearby because the suspect wasn't charged with a theft but instead for DUI.
 
The Supreme Court's more recent decision makes very clear that the prior approach of routine car or truck searches incident to an arrest is prohibited. Instead, searches can only occur in particular constrained circumstances. It is a ruling that authorities have criticized and that criminal defense lawyers have appreciated.