The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that police need a warrant to search the vehicle of someone they have arrested if the person is locked up in a patrol cruiser and poses no safety threat to officers.
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The court's 5-4 decision puts new limits on the ability of police to search a vehicle immediately after the arrest of a suspect./ppJustice John Paul Stevens said in the majority opinion that warrantless searches still may be conducted if a car's passenger compartment is within reach of a suspect who has been removed from the vehicle or there is reason to believe evidence of a crime will be found./ppWhen these justifications are absent, a search of an arrestee's vehicle will be unreasonable unless police obtain a warrant, Stevens said./ppJustice Samuel Alito, in dissent, complained that the decision upsets police practice that has developed since the court first authorized warrantless searches immediately following an arrest./ppThere are cases in which it is unclear whether an arrestee could retrieve a weapon or evidence, Alito said./p |
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