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State v. Gant: Departing from the Bright-Line Belton Rule in Automobile Searches Incident to Arrest

Abstract

In State v. Gant, the Arizona Supreme Court, in a 3 to 2 decision, held that when an arrestee is handcuffed in the back of a patrol car and under the supervision of an officer at a secure scene, a warrantless search of the arrestee's car cannot be justified as necessary to protect officer safety or to prevent the destruction of evidence. Thus, the search is not subject to the automobile "search incident to arrest" exception to the Fourth Amendment's warrant requirement. The decision is contrary to the holdings of most other state and federal district courts that have addressed the issue.

How to Cite

58 Ariz. L. Rev. 1033 (2007)

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Authors

Holly Wells

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