Also known as: recent occupant
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A status under the Fourth Amendment that permits officers to search the passenger compartment of a vehicle incident to the arrest of a person who has recently exited the vehicle. The status exists when the arrest closely follows the person's use or occupancy of the vehicle in time and space. The search is authorized only if the arrestee remains unsecured and within reaching distance of the passenger compartment or if it is reasonable to believe the vehicle contains evidence of the offense of arrest.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Officer Lewis arrested Ruby Rivera after she locked her sedan and walked across a mall parking lot. Lewis handcuffed Rivera and placed her in a patrol car before searching the passenger compartment. The arrest was for shoplifting and no facts suggested evidence of that offense remained in the car. The search violated the Fourth Amendment because Rivera was secured and the evidentiary justification was absent.
Officer Rivera watched Ralph Richardson park his box truck at a freight yard and exit to speak with coworkers. Rivera arrested Richardson on a warrant for transporting stolen goods and immediately searched the cab using Richardson's keys. The search was lawful because Richardson qualified as a recent occupant even though officers first encountered him outside the truck.
Officer Jones arrested Ravi Reddy inside a secured control room fifteen minutes after Reddy parked and exited an SUV. Other officers searched the parked SUV's seats while Reddy remained inside the building. The search exceeded Fourth Amendment limits because the delay and physical separation meant Reddy was no longer a recent occupant who could access the vehicle.
Officer Lopez arrested Rhea Reynolds at the threshold of her condominium three minutes after she exited her SUV parked in the adjacent driveway. The second officer searched the passenger compartment and found cocaine under the seat. The search was valid because the short interval and continuous observation kept Reynolds a recent occupant whose arrest justified the limited search.
Officer Dora arrested Renee Rogers for speeding and an outstanding warrant, handcuffed her, and locked her in a cruiser. Dora then searched the sedan and opened a briefcase on the front seat. The search was invalid because Rogers was secured and the minor traffic and warrant offenses supplied no reasonable basis to expect evidence inside the vehicle.
No. The status applies when officers first encounter and arrest the person after the person has exited the vehicle, provided the arrest closely follows the occupancy in time and space. The continuous sequence from exiting the car to arrest keeps the connection intact.
Supporting sources
A person ceases to qualify when a significant temporal or spatial separation severs the connection to the vehicle. Walking through a security gate into a secured building and waiting fifteen minutes before arrest can break the link, eliminating the justification for a passenger compartment search.
…the immediate control of the arrestee' when that area arguably includes the interior of an automobile and the arrestee is its recent occupant." Id. , at 460. In order to provide a "workable rule," ibid. , we held that "articles inside the relatively narrow compass of the passenger compartment of an automobile are in fact…
…from the situation here—the Court not only reaffirmed but extended the holding of Belton , making it applicable to recent occupants. Today’s decision effectively overrules those important decisions, even though respondent Gant has not asked us to do so. To take the place of the overruled precedents, the Court adopts a…
…the immediate control of the arrestee" when that area arguably includes the interior of an automobile and the arrestee is its recent occupant
…584, 122 S. Ct. 2428, 153 L. Ed. 2d 556 (2002). An officer would still be able to search a car upon the arrest of any one of its recent occupants
…the arrestee is in the car. Held: The judgment is affirmed. The Fourth Amendment permits a vehicle search incident to a recent occupant
Supporting sources
Only if it is reasonable to believe the vehicle contains evidence of the offense of arrest. Once the arrestee is handcuffed and placed in a patrol car, the access prong is unavailable, so the evidentiary prong must be satisfied by facts tied to the specific crime.
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Yes. Offenses that naturally involve documentary or physical evidence in a vehicle, such as prescription fraud or transporting stolen goods, support the evidentiary justification. Pure status offenses like driving with a suspended license or minor warrants usually do not.
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