State v. Horrace

— In this case we must decide whether a trooper’s pat-down search of a vehicle passenger, following the arrest of the vehicle’s driver, was constitutionally sound. The trooper’s limited, protective search led to petitioner Ronald J. Horrace’s arrest for possession of a concealed weapon. Pursuant to the heightened search incident to that arrest, Horrace was charged with possession of methamphetamine while armed. The trial court denied Horrace’s motion to suppress. The Court of Appeals affirmed, concluding that the initial protective search had been based on specific, articulable facts…