NCJ Number
162093
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 65 Issue: 1 Dated: (January 1996) Pages: 26-32
Date Published
1996
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the law regarding searches incident to arrest and then specifically considers the issue of searching locked containers incident to arrest.
Abstract
The fourth amendment allows police officers to search a person incident to a lawful arrest without first requiring them to obtain a search warrant. Neither are they required to establish probable cause that weapons or evidence will be found prior to conducting the search. The U.S. Supreme Court has limited the spatial scope of a search incident to arrest to the area within the arrestee's immediate control. The search must be confined to that area within which the arrestee could gain possession of a weapon or destroy evidence. The area of the search is not limited simply because police restraints (handcuffs) restrict the arrestee's movement. The Supreme Court has also put temporal limits within which a search must be conducted incident to a lawful arrest. The search must be contemporaneous to the arrest. The search of automobiles without a warrant must be contemporaneous with the arrest of an occupant of the vehicle; however, it is not clear exactly how close in time the search must be to the arrest in the automobile setting. Some courts do not consider it significant that a container that is searched incident to arrest happens to be locked. Nevertheless, there is a split of authority in the courts on whether locked containers may be searched incident to arrest, and this issue has not been addressed by the Supreme Court. Accordingly, because the legality of such searches has not yet been settled, law enforcement agencies should consult legal counsel to determine the law for their local jurisdiction. 42 notes