Texas-Book-Gun Law Armed And Educated - Flipbook - Page 62
What about personal items at the time of arrest? A decision out of
the Court of Appeals in Fort Worth may shed some light. Personal
items that are “immediately associated” with an arrestee may be
searched incident to arrest. What does “immediately associated”
mean? Purses, wallets, bags, and even “a small tin can” are likely to
meet this standard, while luggage, foot lockers, and other “untypical
objects” generally do not. See State v. Drury, 560 S.W.3d 752, 754
(Tex. App.—Fort Worth 2018).
If a person is arrested in the very near vicinity of his vehicle, this
power to search will often extend to the passenger compartment
of the vehicle. In 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court addressed this
authority to search in the case of Arizona v. Gant, 556 U.S. 332
(2009). In Gant, the Court held that a search of the passenger
compartment of the vehicle was lawful only if it was reasonable to
believe the arrestee might access the vehicle at the time of search,
or that the vehicle contained evidence of the crime for which the
person has been arrested. Assume that an officer slaps the cuffs on
you right outside your open car door for the aforementioned crime
of unlawful carry. Now, the police can search your entire passenger
compartment incident to your arrest! However, if you are arrested
several yards away from your parked car, Gant does not allow the
search of your car as being “incident” to the arrest.
D. Inventory search
The inventory search is the all-encompassing catch-all that will
allow a thorough search of your vehicle anytime it comes into
police custody. Anytime you are arrested with your vehicle, the
police are authorized to remove the car and impound it for safe
keeping. The contents of the car must be “inventoried” to protect
Know Your Rights: Part III | 51
