E.D.Mich.: Finding drugs on person during traffic custodial arrest permits vehicle search

Defendant’s stop was valid because the LPN was expired. While that proved to be untrue, the officer also learned early on the car was uninsured. With defendant arrested, the officer searched his person finding cocaine. That authorized a search of the car for more. United States v. Ballard, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 234256 (E.D.Mich. Dec. 7, 2021).

The officer did not have time to leave the hospital to acquire a search warrant because defendant was badly injured. The totality of the circumstances showed the lack of time to acquire a warrant in light of the compelling need to perform a blood test on defendant. State v. Bucklew, 2021-NCCOA-659, 2021 N.C. App. LEXIS 689 (Dec. 7, 2021).*

Probable cause existed for this search warrant. Officers did a trash pull and then surveilled the house, and traffic to the house strongly suggested drug sales inside. Defendant’s regular and continuing objections to the evidence from the search preserved the record. The pretrial ruling after the hearing was final, and that should have been enough. (The Court of Appeals held it was not preserved, and it was wrong.) State v. Jones, 2021 S.C. LEXIS 163 (Dec. 8, 2021).*