Also known as: search incident to arrest
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A Fourth Amendment exception permitting officers to conduct a warrantless search of an arrestee's person and the area within immediate control. The search must remain substantially contemporaneous in time and place with the arrest. Delayed or remote searches after impoundment fall outside the exception and require separate justification.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Stella Shapiro was arrested in a clinic parking lot for diverting samples. Officers seized her sedan on site and towed it several miles to a government garage. Several hours later they opened locked cases in the trunk. The search occurred after impoundment at a remote location and lacked any other justification.
Sierra Santos was arrested beside her truck at a remote wind farm. Officers seized the truck parked twenty yards away and later searched the glove compartment after towing it thirty miles. The search targeted areas from which she could have accessed a weapon at the moment of arrest.
Sylvia Santos was arrested inside her home office. Officers saw incriminating documents on a nearby desk while securing the arrest scene. They seized the papers without a warrant because the items came into plain view during the limited search incident to arrest.
Sean Steele was arrested at his apartment after officers entered without knocking. They conducted a search of the immediate area around him for weapons and evidence. The search itself remained valid because it was incident to a lawful arrest even though entry procedures were flawed.
Sebastian Santos was arrested and handcuffed beside his car. Officers searched the passenger compartment for evidence of the crime of arrest. The search was invalid because Santos was secured and posed no threat of accessing the vehicle.
Sydney Santos was handcuffed at her office desk. Officers searched the drawers inches from her chair and found documents. They also opened a file cabinet twelve feet away. Only the desk search stayed within the area of immediate control.
The search must be substantially contemporaneous in both time and place. A search conducted hours later at a remote impound facility after towing exceeds the exception and requires an independent justification such as a warrant or inventory policy.
Supporting sources
No. Officers must effect an actual custodial arrest. A nonconsensual search after merely issuing a citation is unlawful even when state law would have permitted an arrest instead.
…decided Chimel v. California , 395 U. S. 752 (1969), which involved the limitations imposed on police authority to conduct a search incident to a valid arrest. Relying explicitly on Terry , we held that when an arrest is made, it is reasonable for the arresting officer to search "the arrestee's person and the area within his immediate control'…
…Lorain , 393 U. S. 166 (1968) ( per curiam ) (warrantless search) 23. Chimel v. California , 395 U. S. 752 (1969) (invalid
…See nn. 12 and 21, supra . [^maj-24]: The "plain view" exception to the warrant requirement is not in conflict with the law of search incident to a valid arrest
…it: new acquaintances among jailers, lawyers, prisoners, and bail bondsmen, firsthand knowledge of local jail conditions, a "search incident to arrest
…States v. Robinson , 414 U. S. 218, 236, and n. 7 (1973) (officer's subjective fear not determinative of necessity for "search incident to arrest
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Officers may seize the phone and inspect its physical exterior for weapons. They may not unlock the device or review stored data without a warrant or a distinct exigent-circumstances justification because digital contents implicate unique privacy interests beyond the traditional search-incident rationale.
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The permissible area is limited to the space from which the arrestee might gain access to a weapon or destructible evidence at the moment of arrest. Once the arrestee is handcuffed, locations such as a file cabinet twelve feet away or a separate server closet fall outside that zone.
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A preexisting valid warrant can attenuate the taint of an unlawful stop. The subsequent lawful arrest then supports a search incident to arrest of the arrestee and the passenger compartment of a nearby vehicle.
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