NCJ Number
177862
Journal
Crime to Court, Police Officer's Handbook Dated: July 1999 Pages: 1-13
Date Published
1999
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This paper presents the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Wyoming v. Houghton (1999), which pertains to the search of a vehicle passenger's purse in the course of a vehicle stop, during which officers had probable cause to believe the driver was in possession of illegal drugs; the paper also discusses the nature of and first-aid responses to a complex partial epileptic seizure.
Abstract
In the incident at issue in Wyoming v. Houghton, police stopped a speeding vehicle, and the officer in charge observed a hypodermic syringe in the driver's shirt pocket. When the officer asked him why he had a syringe, the driver replied that he used it to take drugs. The two female passengers were then ordered out of the car. The officer observed a purse on the back seat of the vehicle, and one of the female passengers (Houghton) acknowledged that it was hers. In searching the purse, the officer found a pouch that contained drug paraphernalia and a syringe with 60 cc's of methamphetamine. Houghton was charged with felony possession of methamphetamine and subsequently convicted. The trial court denied her motion to suppress all evidence obtained from the purse as the fruit of a violation of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. The court held that the officer had probable cause to search the car for contraband, and, by extension, any containers therein that could hold such contraband. The Wyoming Supreme Court, by divided vote, reversed the conviction, holding that the probable cause to search the vehicle for drugs extended only to the possessions of the driver, who had been observed with a syringe on his person. This probable cause condition did not extend to Houghton, so her purse should not have been searched. The U.S. Supreme Court, on the other hand, reversed the Wyoming Supreme Court, holding that effective law enforcement would be appreciably impaired without the ability to search a passenger's personal belongings when there is reason to believe contraband or evidence of criminal wrongdoing is hidden in the car. The second part of this paper instructs police officers in how to determine whether a person is suffering from a complex partial epileptic seizure and, if so, how to respond appropriately to ensure proper medical attention.