High Court To Hear Search and Seizure Case

ByABC News
January 8, 2001, 3:07 PM

Jan. 8 -- Meeting for the first time since its decisive ruling on the presidential election, the Supreme Court justices decided to take on a case that may affect search and seizure laws but passed on getting involved in the census sampling debate and rejected an appeal in the Whitewater scandal.

Unwarranted Search and Seizure? No High Sampling The Harassment Cap Whitewater Conspiracy: Case Closed

Unwarranted Search and Seizure

The Supreme Court agreed today to clarifywhether police can always search a car without a warrant making an arrest.

The court said it will hear Florida prosecutors appeal of astate court ruling that said police cannot automatically conductsuch a search if the person got out of the car before the initialcontact with police.

In 1997, Robert A. Thomas was arrested after he drove up to a house wherepolice were making arrests for narcotics offenses. Thomas got outof his car and walked toward the rear of the car, where an officermet him and asked to see his drivers license.

A license check showed an arrest warrant for a probationviolation. The officer arrested Thomas, and a search of his carshortly afterward found plastic bags containing a substance thatpolice said tested positive as methamphetamine.

A state trial judge granted Thomas request to bar the use ofthe evidence. A state appeals court disagreed, saying the searchwas lawful because it followed Thomas arrest.

The nations highest court ruled in 1981 that when a policeofficer has arrested the occupant of a vehicle, the officer cansearch the cars passenger compartment.

But the Florida Supreme Court ruled that because Thomas hadgotten out of the car before he had any contact with police, theofficers could not automatically search his car after arrestinghim. Instead, the court said police must show the search wasnecessary to protect officers safety or to preserve evidence.

The case is Florida vs. Thomas, 00-391.