State v. Adams

¶1 One of the “jealously guarded” exceptions to the general requirement of a search warrant is the protective frisk. In State v. Horrace,1 our state Supreme Court ruled that following the arrest of a driver, a passenger may be frisked if an officer has specific, articulable facts *102supporting a reasonable belief that the passenger may be armed and dangerous. Here, a passenger in a stolen car was frisked for merely being in the car at the time of the stop. The question is whether the officer had reasonable, articulable facts that led him to believe that the passenger was armed and/or dangerous…