People v. Lopez

Summary

The court held that the Fourth Amendment does not recognize a categorical exception allowing police to search a vehicle for a driver's identification merely because the driver stopped for a traffic violation cannot produce a license or other identification. The court concluded that later constitutional guidance, the substantial privacy intrusion involved in searching purses and other personal effects, and the availability of less intrusive alternatives warranted abandoning the prior rule. The judgment was reversed and the case remanded; the dissent would have retained the limited identification-search rule.