Officers Starsky and Hutch are deputies for the town’s police office.
Late one night, in a crime-ridden section of town, Starsky and Hutch spotted a man standing next to his motorcycle, double-parked on the sidewalk, using his cell phone.
The officers pulled over and asked the man what was going on. He said that he ran out of gas. Starsky and Hutch asked to see some I.D., but the man said he had no driver’s license. Hutch then patted down the fellow, found a large quantity of crack cocaine, and arrested him for possession with intent to distribute.
At trial, the suspect claims that Starsky and Hutch violated his 4th Amendment constitutional rights and moves to suppress the evidence found in the search.
What’s the result? The 4th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects persons against “unreasonable searches and seizures.” In general, the U.S. Supreme Court examines whether the police officers’ conduct is reasonable under the circumstances.
In situations involving searches incident to an arrest, the courts have allowed police to search the area within the suspect’s reach to prevent the suspect from being able to destroy evidence or gain access to a weapon.
The court normally requires a police officer to have probable cause to arrest a suspect of a crime in order for a search to be valid.
The situation of Starsky and Hutch has been held by the Louisiana Supreme Court to be a valid search incident to arrest because the police officers initially had probable cause to arrest the suspect for a crime, even though they had not arrested him before the search. These search and seizure issues are things that our law enforcement officers face every day. These men and women put their lives on the line “to protect and serve.” However, these search and seizure laws involve a delicate balancing of the need for law enforcement to search a person suspected of a crime versus an individual’s right to be free from unreasonable searches. In the law, it seems that nothing is easy.
David Doughty is an attorney for the law firm of Cotton, Bolton, Hoychick & Doughty.
