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NC: Pre-Gant SI was invalid; record well developed, and the state gets no remand

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

The search of defendant’s car based on driving on a suspended license a year before Gant was invalid under Gant. The state sought a remand, but the court finds the record sufficient even though the suppression hearing was well before Gant. The state’s alternative of plain view fails because the gun was found after the car door was opened. State v. Johnson, 2010 N.C. App. LEXIS 946 (June 1, 2010): While the suppression hearing was focused on the constitutionality of the police officer's stop of defendant, the record exceeds that scope, and covers in detail all aspects of the encounter including: the stop, the officer's questioning of defendant regarding his license, defendant's arrest for driving on a suspended or revoked license, defendant's removal to the backseat of the patrol car, and the subsequent search of defendant's car incident to his arrest...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on June 07, 2010 (boomark / email).