ARTICLE TAKEN FROM THE NEW LONDON DAY WEDNESDAY APRIL 22, 2009 C1
The Supreme Court put a new limit on police searches of cars Tuesday, saying that "countless individuals guilty of nothing more than a traffic violation" have had their vehicles searched in violation of their rights.
In a 5-4 decision, the justices set aside a 1981 opinion that had given police broad authority to search cars whenever they made an arrest.
Instead, the justices said an arresting officer could search a vehicle only if weapons were potentially in reach of the suspect or if there was a reason to believe the car contained evidence related to the arrest. For example, if the driver was arrested for a drug crime, the car could be searched for drugs.
Justice John Paul Stevens, speaking for the court, said merely arresting a driver does not "provide a police entitlement" to search the vehicle without a warrant.
Brokenwing Editorials thought that its readers should know about their rights if they are stopped by the police.
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