State v. Demeter

This case presents another aspect of the search-and-seizure issue presented in State v. Colvin, 123 N.J. 428, 587 A.2d 1278 (1991). In that case the police had probable cause to believe that a vehicle parked on a street contained contraband in the form of drugs. We held that in the circumstances of that case (no advance planning for the search, combined with indications that the evidence might be lost or removed by confederates) the police could conduct a warrantless search of the car, and, under United States v. Ross, 456 U.S. 798, 102 S.Ct. 2157, 72 L.Ed.2d 572 (1982), of all the containers…