Arizona v. Gant: Two and a Half Cheers for the Court
Trial Magazine, August 2009
Indiana University Maurer School of Law-Bloomington Legal Studies Research Paper Series Research Paper No. 137
6 Pages Posted: 8 Jul 2009 Last revised: 2 Jul 2013
Date Written: 2009
Abstract
In Arizona v. Gant the Supreme Court reversed the long-standing precedent of New York v, Belton and held that police could no longer search the passenger compartment of a car, when the driver was arrested from that car, without any level of suspicion. Instead, prior to searching the car the police must have 'reason to believe' that evidence will be found in it. This means that for many arrests, such as driving with a suspended license or bail jumping there can be no search because there is no evidence to be found. This article examines the decision, points out couple of flaws, but generally applauds it.
Keywords: Criminal Procedure, Fourth Amendment, Search and Seizure, Automobile Searches
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