New York Court of Appeals
The People of the State of New York v. Brian Marsh
June 1, 196720 N.Y.2d 98
Summary
The New York Court of Appeals reversed the conviction of Brian Marsh, holding that a warrantless search incident to an arrest for a traffic violation is not authorized under the Fourth Amendment absent a specific safety concern or probable cause of a crime. The Court reasoned that traffic offenses are legislative treated as noncriminal and that extending the search incident to arrest rule to such offenses would exceed constitutional limits. A dissent argued that an arrest pursuant to a "scofflaw" warrant should permit a search, but the majority rejected that view.