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

In State v. Gant, the Arizona Supreme Court, in a 3-2 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. The decision is contrary to the holdings of most other state and federal district courts that have addressed the issue.