Wyoming v. Houghton

The Supreme Court stated that the officer’s probable cause to search the automobile was incontestable. Once the Court found probable cause existed, it limited its discussion to determining the scope of the search. Citing United States v. Ross (1982), the Supreme Court stated that “[I]f probable cause justifies the search of a lawfully stopped vehicle, it justifies the search of every part of the vehicle and its contents that may conceal the object of the search.” In the case at hand, the Court held that this includes containers that belong to passengers. In doing so, the Court rejected ownership as a factor to be considered by the officer before conducting an automobile search. While the Court held that the containers of passengers were subject to a search of the mobile conveyance, this same rationale could not be applied to the body of the passengers because of the significantly heightened protection traditionally provided to one’s person.