Title:

Arizona v. Rodney Joseph Gant

Subject:

Criminal Law & Procedure, Fourth Amendment

Question:

In New York v. Belton, 453 U.S. 454 (1981), the Court held that the risks to officer safety and to the preservation of evidence inherent in the arrest of a vehicle's recent occupant justify a contemporaneous warrantless search of the automobile's passenger compartment incident to the arrest. The question presented is: does the Fourth Amendment require law enforcement officers to demonstrate a threat to their safety or a need to preserve evidence related to the crime of arrest in order to justify a warrantless vehicular search incident to arrest conducted after the vehicle's recent occupants have been arrested and secured?

Decisions:

• Arizona Supreme Court Opinion Filed: July 25, 2007
• United States Supreme Court Cert. Granted: February 25, 2008

Resources:

• Docket Sheet From the U.S. Supreme Court.