State v. Newsom

This is a criminal case. We conclude that the search of a passenger’s purse as part of a vehicle search following the arrest of the driver violated the passenger’s right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure.

I

THE BACKGROUND AND PRIOR PROCEEDINGS

Two Boise police officers (the officers) saw a vehicle that made several turn signal violations. The officers initiated a registration check and continued to watch the vehicle while waiting for the results. The officers saw a passenger (the passenger) enter the vehicle and then saw the vehicle make more turn signal violations as it drove…