State v. Ruscetta

OPINION

By the Court, Parraguirre, J.:

In this appeal, we clarify the test for determining the scope of consensual vehicular searches. In doing so, we revisit our decision in State v. Johnson, 2 where a majority of the court concluded that dismantling a vehicle glove box exceeds the scope of general consent to search a vehicle and is therefore unreasonable. We now clarify that the proper test in cases involving consensual vehicular searches is one that examines the totality of the circumstances for objective reasonableness.

Although the district court applied the proper test in this case, it…