Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A person taken into custody by legal authority.
After officers arrested Ariana Azizi beside her car for drug possession, they handcuffed her and placed her in the back of a patrol vehicle. The officers then opened the passenger compartment and found a firearm. Because Ariana was secured and the vehicle held no evidence of the arrest offense, the search exceeded the permissible scope incident to arrest.
Following Aisha Ahmed's valid arrest for shoplifting, officers transported her to the station and inventoried the contents of her purse before booking her into a cell. The inventory revealed stolen credit cards. The search of Aisha's personal items was lawful as a routine administrative procedure preceding incarceration.
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Officers arrested Audrey Ashton inside her apartment on an assault warrant. They heard movement in a back bedroom and conducted a brief sweep of that room, discovering a second suspect hiding there. The sweep was justified by specific facts indicating danger from another person in the home.
Angela Acosta parked her car and walked toward a store when officers stopped and arrested her for an outstanding warrant. They then searched the passenger compartment and located drug paraphernalia. The search remained valid even though officers first encountered Angela outside the vehicle.
After lawfully arresting Abigail Alvarez on the street for public intoxication, officers conducted a complete pat-down and emptied her pockets, recovering a small packet of narcotics. The search was permissible regardless of whether the officers feared for safety or expected to find evidence.
Anthony Arnold was arrested near his vehicle and immediately handcuffed and secured in a patrol car. Officers searched the passenger compartment anyway and found a weapon. The search was invalid because Anthony could not access the vehicle at the time of the search.
Yes. Once the arrestee is secured, officers may not search areas beyond the arrestee's immediate control unless an independent justification such as evidence of the offense exists.
Officers may inventory an arrestee's belongings as a standard administrative procedure before incarceration following a valid arrest.
A protective sweep is justified when officers have a reasonable belief based on specific and articulable facts that another person posing danger is present in areas where a person could hide.
Yes. Officers may search the passenger compartment incident to the arrest of a recent occupant even when the first encounter occurs after the person has left the vehicle.
No. A full search of the arrestee's person is valid whenever the custodial arrest itself is constitutional, without regard to case-specific fears for safety or expectations of evidence.
…Relying explicitly on Terry , we held that when an arrest is made, it is reasonable for the arresting officer to search "the arrestee's person and the area within his immediate control' — construing that phrase to mean the area from within which he might gain possession of a weapon or destructible evidence." 395 U. S.,…