NJ: Search incident at hospital 90 minutes after arrest was reasonable

Defendant was arrested for first-degree aggravated manslaughter as a result of an accident after he injected himself with fentanyl-laced heroin. He was under arrest at the scene, but he wasn’t actually searched until he was in the hospital. The search at the hospital an hour and a half later was substantially contemporaneous with the arrest and was valid as a search incident. State v. Vanderee, 2023 N.J. Super. LEXIS 72 (July 5, 2023).

“Bell lacked a reasonable expectation of privacy in (1) the triplex generally, (2) the specific areas searched, and (3) the items the police seized from the second-floor unit. … Bell did not have a possessory or ownership interest in the unit; he was merely visiting his sister, and for only the third time. Indeed, his mail listed a different address. There is no evidence to suggest that he ever stayed overnight.” United States v. Bell, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 114748 (E.D. Wis. July 5, 2023).*

The premises searched was actually a duplex, but the officer presented information for the warrant that essentially included both sides because it was believed to be one residence. The warrant was not unparticular. United States v. Davidson, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 114965 (E.D.Mich. July 5, 2023).*

Appellant seeks to relitigate his motion to suppress affirmed on appeal by arguing that a new rule of constitutional law applied. Only it doesn’t. In re Sumlin, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 16966 (6th Cir. July 5, 2023).*