State v. Quinlivan

¶1 — One of the “jealously guarded” exceptions to the general requirement of a search warrant is the search incident to arrest. The state Supreme Court established what has been called a “bright-line rule” in State v. Stroud.1 The rule is that police can search a vehicle incident to arrest without the authority of a search warrant. Here, a deputy sheriff stopped a pickup truck. The driver left the truck, locked it, and sat on a curb. He refused to give the deputy the keys to the truck. The deputy arrested him, seized the keys, searched the truck, and found drugs under a seat. The question…