Also known as: search incident to arrest · searches incident to arrest · search incident to arrests · SITA · search incident to lawful arrest
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A Fourth Amendment exception permitting warrantless searches of an arrestee's person and the area within their immediate control upon a lawful arrest. The search must occur substantially contemporaneously with the arrest in both time and place. Delayed searches after the arrestee has been removed or the vehicle impounded fall outside this exception and require independent justification.
Officers arrest Simone Sanders at the scene of a traffic stop and immediately take her into custody. They tow her car to the station and search it two hours later without a warrant. The court suppresses the evidence because the search occurred after the arrestee had been removed and the vehicle impounded.
Officers stop Seth Shapiro for a traffic violation and observe a knife on the floorboard. They order him out of the car and conduct a limited search of the passenger compartment for weapons before completing the stop. The court upholds the search as a reasonable protective measure tied to the encounter.
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Officers enter Skylar Sullivan's home to execute an arrest warrant but fail to knock and announce their presence. They discover evidence during the ensuing search incident to the arrest. The court admits the evidence because the knock-and-announce violation does not trigger the exclusionary rule for the arrest search.
Officers enter Sasha Stone's apartment without a warrant to arrest him for a felony and seize evidence in plain view during the arrest. The court suppresses the evidence because the arrest itself violated the warrant requirement for entry into a home.
Officers arrest Sarah Sullivan for driving with a suspended license and place her in the patrol car. They then search the passenger compartment of her vehicle and find drugs. The court suppresses the evidence because the arrestee posed no threat and the search exceeded the permissible scope.
Officers arrest Sydney Santos in his living room and search the entire house including distant bedrooms. The court suppresses items found outside the room of arrest because the search exceeded the area within the arrestee's immediate control.
No. A search incident to arrest requires an actual custodial arrest supported by probable cause. Issuing only a citation provides no basis for the search even if state law permits an arrest.
Yes. The search must occur substantially at the same time and place as the arrest. A search conducted after the arrestee has been removed and the vehicle impounded falls outside the exception.
No. An arrest supported by probable cause satisfies the Fourth Amendment even if it violates state law. The search incident to that arrest remains valid.
…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…