Generally speaking, how does the U.S. Supreme Court treat searches that are conducted by police without a warrant?
A) The Court presumes that the searches are reasonable.
B) The Court presumes that the searches are reasonable if based on reasonable suspicion.
C) The Court considers the officer's testimony and whether a clear and convincing motive is present in the officer's decision to search.
D) The Court presumes that the searches are unreasonable.
Question 2
Review the following facts from Arizona v. Gant (2009): Police officers arrested Rodney Gant for driving with a suspended license. After he was handcuffed and locked in the back of a patrol car, officers searched his car and found cocaine in a jacket located on the backseat. Gant moved to suppress the cocaine found by police.
How did the U.S. Supreme Court rule on the search incident to arrest issue in this case?
A) The Court held that the search-incident-to-arrest exception to the Fourth Amendment's warrant requirement justified the search in this case.
B) The Court held that the search-incident-to-arrest exception to the Fourth Amendment's warrant requirement was not at issue and the search and ultimate seizure of contraband was lawful.
C) The Court held that the search-incident-to-arrest exception to the Fourth Amendment's warrant requirement did NOT justify the search in this case because the arrestee was not within reaching distance of the passenger compartment at the time of the search.
D) The Court held that the driving with a suspended license and drug trafficking are inherently linked and as such, the search in this case was lawful.