Law of the Case: Florida Court's Ruling (From Crime to Court: Police Officer's Handbook, P 3-8, 1990, Joseph C Coleman -- See NCJ-125062)

• NCJ Number: 125063
• Author(s): J C Coleman
• Date Published: 1990
• Length: 6 pages
• Corporate Author: South Carolina Educational Television Network; South Carolina Criminal Justice Acad
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Policy/Procedure Handbook/Manual
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The case Florida v. Wells is examined in regard to the issue of police opening closed containers during an inventory search.

Abstract

In this case, Wells was charged with possession of a controlled substance when police discovered marijuana in his car during an inventory search after impounding the car. The Court determined that the Florida Highway Patrol had no policy at all with respect to opening closed containers. The search was therefore unconstitutional. Inventory searches must be "sufficiently regulated" so as to avoid the possibility that police will abuse their power to conduct such a search. The facts of the case demonstrate a prime danger of insufficiently regulated inventory searches: police may use the excuse of an "inventory search" as a pretext for broad searches of vehicles and their contents. In this case, there was no evidence that the inventory search was done in accordance with any standardized inventory procedures.