IA: Passenger’s open container seen in parked car didn’t justify search of car console

Defendant’s car was parked about midnight in June with the windows down and the radio loud. He, the driver, was standing outside the car. The passenger was still inside. Officers stopped and approached the car. They saw the passenger had an open container, so they searched the console for more alcohol, finding a gun. The state asserted the automobile exception. The search of the console was unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment. State v. Phillips, 2016 Iowa App. LEXIS 1346 (Dec. 21, 2016).

Defendant was a postal worker questioned about stealing the mail. She contended that she was threatened with her job to talk to the Postal Inspector. The statement was voluntary and Garrity protections of police officers don’t apply to USPS employees. Since the statement was voluntary, the search of her car was valid since it depended on the statement. United States v. Hailey, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 169135 (N.D. Ga. Oct. 21, 2016),* adopted, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 168091 (N.D. Ga. Dec. 5, 2016).*