State v. Dion E. Robinson (076267) (Atlantic County and Statewide)

Under federal and New Jersey search-and-seizure jurisprudence, a police officer’s warrantless search of the passenger compartment of a vehicle, following a lawful traffic stop, is a constitutional protective sweep when the circumstances give rise to a reasonable suspicion that a driver or passenger “is dangerous and may gain immediate access to weapons.” State v. Gamble, 218 N.J. 412, 432, 95 A.3d 188 (2014) (citing Michigan v. Long, 463 U.S. 1032, 1049, 103 S.Ct. 3469, 3481, 77 L.Ed.2d 1201, 1220 (1983); State v. Lund, 119 N.J. 35, 48, 573 A.2d 1376 (1990)). A protective sweep, permitted in…