Michigan v. Long

Summary

The Court held that it had jurisdiction to review the state-court judgment because the opinion below fairly appeared to rest primarily on federal law and did not clearly state an adequate and independent state ground. It further held that officers may conduct a protective search of an automobile's passenger compartment during a lawful investigative stop when specific, articulable facts support a reasonable belief that the suspect is dangerous and may gain immediate control of weapons. The judgment was reversed and the case remanded for the state court to determine whether the trunk search was valid.