Client was arrest for Felony DWI (3rd DWI in 6 years) after being stopped for swerving all over the road. A search of his car found two cold beers inside it.
The officer had a hard time remembering details from the arrest and had not provided all the details in his offense report.
Client performed well on the station video. Jury found reasonable doubt and acquitted Client.
Arizona v. Gant
An important decision was handed down that is going to have a major impact on drug cases involving vehicle searches.
Up until Gant an officer could search a subjects vehicle as a search incident to arrest. If they were arresting a subject for DWI, they could then search the car and add illegal substances to the list of charges being filed if drugs were found in the car.
Now a search of the car is limited to situations where the subject would still be within reaching distance to the car in order to protect the officer from the subject grabbing a weapon out of the car.
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