State v. Earl

We granted this appeal by the State because it raises the issue of whether a police officer may conduct a warrantless search of a vehicle following a traffic violation by the driver. I disagree with the majority that such a search is authorized under these facts because (1) no custodial arrest for a traffic violation occurred prior to the search, and (2) the police officer’s safety was not at issue as evidenced by the fact that the police officer did not pat down Hezile Earl after he got out of his car. I would affirm the trial court’s decision to suppress the evidence.

The facts are that at…