In State v. Gefroh, the court held that probable cause to search an automobile--based on a dog sniff indicating presence of narcotics--did not give the police authority to conduct a full search of the person of the driver:
[¶10] Gefroh argued the automobile exception to the warrant requirement justified only the search of the vehicle, but did not justify the search of his person without a warrant. The State argued the officers could properly search Gefroh because every part of a vehicle and its contents that may conceal the object of the search may be searched. See Wyoming v. Houghton, 526 U.S. 295, 301 (1999) (citing United States v. Ross, 456 U.S. 798, 825 (1982)). The State contended Gefroh and his pockets were containers within the vehicle, because he was sitting in the vehicle when probable cause was established.
[¶11] In United States v. Di Re, the United States Supreme Court found no grounds to expand the automobile exception to justify the arrest and search of the person within a car. 332 U.S. 581, 587 (1948). It had been argued the automobile exception should justify the warrantless search of a person in cases where the object of the search could easily be concealed on a person. Id. at 586. The government recognized that persons may not be searched just because they are on premises subject to a search warrant. Id. at 587. The Court compared that situation to one where a vehicle is subject to a search warrant, which would not allow the search of a person, and decided it was not rational that a warrantless search of a vehicle would be greater in scope than a search pursuant to a warrant. Id. The Court stated, "We are not convinced that a person, by mere presence in a suspected car, loses immunities from search of his person to which he would otherwise be entitled." Id.
[¶12] The Supreme Court in Houghton recognized the "heightened protection afforded against searches of one's person," and reiterated that case law supported a distinction between the person and a container within a vehicle. 526 U.S. at 303 (citing Di Re, 332 U.S. 581 (1948); Ybarra v. Illinois, 444 U.S. 85 (1979)). The issue in Houghton was whether passengers' property may be searched during a vehicle search, and the Court held passengers' property may be searched the same as the driver's property. Id. at 307. The Court stated case law did not support a distinction between the possessions of a driver and passenger, but did support a distinction between the person and a container within a vehicle. Id. at 303. The Court said, "Even a limited search of the outer clothing . . . constitutes a severe, though brief, intrusion upon cherished personal security, and it must surely be an annoying, frightening, and perhaps humiliating experience." Id. (quoting Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 24-25 (1968)).
[¶13] We hold the automobile exception did not justify the warrantless search of Gefroh's person.
Read the full opinion here.
