Also known as: searches incident to arrest · search-incident-to-arrest · SITA · search incident to lawful arrest
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A warrantless search of an arrestee and the area within the arrestee's immediate control. The search is justified by the need to protect officer safety and preserve evidence. It must occur substantially contemporaneously with a lawful arrest.
Detectives arrested Steven Silva in a company parking lot for suspected theft. They secured his locked pickup, towed it to an impound lot, and waited until the next morning before opening every toolbox. The court suppressed the tools because the search occurred after the arrest was complete and the vehicle was fully under police control at a different location.
Officer Ruiz arrested Sylvia Santos for driving with a suspended license and immediately searched the passenger compartment of her car. The search uncovered a concealed firearm within reach of the driver's seat. The court upheld the search because it was contemporaneous with the arrest and limited to the area from which Santos could have obtained a weapon.
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Officers arrested Sebastian Santos inside his living room on an outstanding warrant. While securing the immediate area, they opened a nearby drawer and found stolen jewelry. The court admitted the jewelry because the search was limited to the space within Santos's immediate control at the moment of arrest.
Police arrested Sarah Sullivan after she refused to provide identification during a lawful Terry stop. They then searched her person and found drug paraphernalia. The court suppressed the evidence because the underlying arrest itself was invalid under the Fourth Amendment.
Officers entered Stephen Shaw's apartment to execute an arrest warrant without knocking and announcing their presence. They arrested Shaw and immediately searched the area around him, finding cash from a robbery. The court admitted the cash because the search incident to the lawful arrest was independent of the knock-and-announce violation.
Police arrested Sabrina Shah after she discarded a gun in a supermarket. They immediately searched her purse for additional weapons and found illegal ammunition. The court upheld the search because it was conducted contemporaneously with the arrest to ensure officer and public safety.
Yes. The search must be substantially contemporaneous in time and place with the arrest. A search conducted the next day at an impound lot after the vehicle has been towed falls outside the doctrine because the arrestee no longer poses any threat of obtaining a weapon or destroying evidence.
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No. A search incident to arrest requires an actual custodial arrest supported by probable cause. Merely issuing a citation without taking the person into custody does not trigger the exception.
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Yes. As long as the arrest is supported by probable cause and is constitutionally valid, the search incident to that arrest is lawful even if the arrest violates state procedural rules.
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The search is limited to the passenger compartment when the arrestee is unsecured and could still reach inside or when officers reasonably believe evidence of the offense of arrest may be found there.
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…or something that could have been used as evidence against him." Id. , at 768. Chimel stressed the need to limit the scope of searches incident to arrest and overruled two prior decisions of this Court validating overly broad searches. Ibid. In Belton , the Court considered the scope of a search incident to the lawful custodial arrest of…