One of the major court decisions for the “Search for Arrest Incident” was Gant v. Arizona. Rodney Gant was arrested for driving with a suspended license. When police officers arrested him and handcuffed him in the back seat of the police car, they conducted a search of his vehicle. The police therefore had no reason to think there were illegal things in his car just because he was driving with a suspended license. The arrest search warrant states that a police officer can conduct a warrantless search if suspensions are found in the area. In the Gant vs. Arizona game that wasn't the case. The police officer had no reason to search Rodney's car just because he had a suspended license. While searching the car, the police officer found cocaine in his jacket pocket in the back seat. In an earlier ruling, such as New York v. Belton, they had adopted the bright line rule. The Bright Line says police can search the passenger-side compartment of a vehicle or any container that is within reach or “grab area” of the arrestee. Later in the years there was another court case, Thornton v. United States. During the court ruling they had changed the Belton rule again. It is now claimed that the police cannot carry out a search without a warrant if the arrested person is secured and locked in a police car and has no access to the interior of the vehicle. After hearing the revised rule, the court did not give up. In the court's final ruling, the police can still only carry out a warrantless search if there is reason to believe that there is other evidence relating to the crime in the vehicle. From the time of Gant's arrest, police had no suspicion that they should conduct a warrantless search due to Gant's suspended driver's license
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