Arizona v. Gant

Officer safety and evidence preservation have been the long-standing rationales behind the search-incident-to-arrest exception to the Fourth Amendment warrant requirement. Although it had become commonplace for officers to search a vehicle incident to the arrest of one of its occupants regardless of whether the suspect had been secured, the Supreme Court in this case held that such searches are unconstitutional when the suspect can no longer access the vehicle. If the suspect is secured and he can no longer access weapons or evidence contained in the vehicle then the rationales for the exception do not apply. The Court further clarified that circumstances unique to the vehicle context justify a search incident to arrest when it is “reasonable to believe” that evidence of the crime of arrest may be found within. When the defendant is secured in a locked police car, and the crime of arrest is driving on a suspended license for which no evidence could reasonably found in the vehicle, none of the exceptions justify a search incident to arrest. However, the government may search a vehicle incident to arrest after the arrestee has been secured when it is reasonable to believe that evidence related to the crime of arrest may be found within.