Also known as: passenger compartments
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The interior area of a vehicle reachable by its occupants from the front and rear seating positions. Police may search this area incident to the arrest of a recent occupant only when the arrestee remains unsecured and within reaching distance or when evidence of the offense of arrest may reasonably be located inside.
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Pablo Perez was arrested for criminal harassment based on prior messages. Officers handcuffed him and placed him in a patrol car before searching his hatchback. The search of the passenger compartment yielded a tablet and bags. Because Pablo was secured and the arrest offense supplied no basis to expect evidence inside the vehicle, the search violated the Fourth Amendment.
Patrick Phan was stopped for a broken taillight and arrested when records showed a suspended license. Officers encountered him moments after he exited his SUV and searched the passenger compartment. The search uncovered documents in the glove box. Because Patrick was a recent occupant and the search occurred promptly after his exit, the intrusion was permissible.
Pamela Phillips was arrested on an outstanding warrant after exiting her sedan. Officers searched the passenger compartment and opened a briefcase on the front seat. Pamela had already been handcuffed and secured in a cruiser. The search exceeded constitutional bounds because she posed no access threat and the warrant supplied no evidentiary link to the vehicle.
Piper Patel was stopped at night near an abandoned building. Officers arrested her for an offense reasonably expected to produce evidence in the vehicle and searched the passenger compartment before she was secured. The search revealed marijuana in plain view. Because the arrestee remained unsecured and within reaching distance, the intrusion was valid under the evidentiary prong.
Penelope Price was arrested after a traffic stop. Officers searched the passenger compartment incident to arrest and seized her cell phone. The phone contained messages relevant to the arrest offense. Because the search of digital contents required a warrant separate from any vehicle search authority, the data was suppressed.
Pearl Porter was convicted after a vehicle search yielded evidence from the passenger compartment. Officers arrested her for an offense that could produce documentary evidence and searched before she was secured. The search itself complied with arrest-incident rules. The jury issue did not affect the validity of the compartment search or the evidence obtained.
Officers may search the passenger compartment incident to arrest only if the arrestee is unsecured and within reaching distance at the time of the search or if it is reasonable to believe the vehicle contains evidence of the offense of arrest. Once the arrestee is handcuffed and secured in a patrol car, the first justification disappears. The second justification requires a reasonable basis tied to the specific crime of arrest rather than a general exploratory interest.
Supporting sources
…armed and dangerous. The Michigan Supreme Court denied the state’s application for leave to appeal. Held: The search of the passenger compartment of the vehicle was a valid protective search under Terry v. Ohio , 392 U. S. 1, and therefore the marijuana found in the trunk was admissible. The Michigan courts’ application of federal…
…Reversing, the State Supreme Court distinguished New York v. Belton , 453 U. S. 454—which held that police may search the passenger compartment
…New York v. Belton , 453 U.S. 454, 101 S. Ct. 2860, 69 L. Ed. 2d 768 (1981), that allowed a police officer to search the entire passenger compartment
…v. Gant , 556 U. S. 332, which permits searches of a car where the arrestee is unsecured and within reaching distance of the passenger compartment
…of the car. As he stepped out, the officers saw Bailey push something between the seat and the front console. A search of the passenger compartment
Securing the arrestee eliminates the access justification but does not automatically bar the search. Officers may still search if they reasonably believe evidence of the offense of arrest is inside the vehicle. The offense must be one that naturally produces physical evidence capable of being stored in the passenger compartment.
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The former approach permitted an automatic search of the passenger compartment whenever a recent occupant was arrested. The current rule limits that authority to the two narrow circumstances of arrestee access or an evidentiary basis tied to the crime of arrest. Automatic searches without one of those justifications are no longer valid.
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The offense must be one for which physical evidence could reasonably be expected in the vehicle. Status offenses such as driving with a suspended license rarely supply such a basis. Offenses involving documents, drugs, or weapons more readily support an inference that evidence may be found in the passenger compartment.
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