Search incident to arrest is permitting searches of the person and surrounding area of an arrestee as an incident to the arrest. There has been many case laws installed to protect the rights of civilians but also to allow police to do their job in taking illegal items off the streets with the arrestee. Search incident to arrest is a simple rule that opens the door for police in many ways. It’s a great tool to have but there is a strict set of rules and exceptions. The following information lists the cases that have shaped search incident to arrest to what it is today.
United States v. Robinson, 414 U.S. 218 (1973) – The U.S. Supreme Court held that "in the case of a lawful custodial arrest a full search of the person is not only an exception to the warrant requirement of the Fourth Amendment, but is also a reasonable search under that Amendment."
Weeks v. United States, 232 U.S. 383 (1914) established that after an arrest is made
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During search incident to arrest one of these requirements must be present in order to search a vehicle if you make an arrest: 1) The defendant is within reach of the vehicle or 2) Evidence directly related to the arrested offense may be found in the car. These requirements are known as the Gant Requirements from the U.S. Supreme Court Case Arizona v. Gant, 556 U.S. 332 (2009).
Search incident to arrest is also known as The Chimel Rule. In 1969 U.S. Supreme Court Case, Chimel v. California, 395 U.S. 752 (1969). The decision was 7-2 in favor of Chimel stating that it was unreasonable under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments that the entire house was searched after the arrest. The U.S. Supreme Court stated that it is reasonable to search the arrestee and the area that would allow the arrestee to gain access to a weapon or destroy evidence, but not areas where the arrestee could not reasonably obtain weapons or destroy