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CA3: Inventory of shoebox in the trunk was valid

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Defendant was stopped for a traffic offense, and he had no documentation for the vehicle, and it was unregistered. The officer called for a tow and conducted an inventory. The inventory was valid under a PPD policy under Bertine and Wells, including opening a shoebox which was full of cocaine. United States v. Mundy, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 19141 (3d Cir. September 14, 2010): Mundy contends that, because the PPD Live Stop Policy does not specifically mention the opening of closed containers, officers may not search closed containers found during a vehicle inventory search. We disagree. Inventory searches are not “totally mechanical” procedures. Wells, 495 U.S. at 4. Standardized criteria or routine may adequately regulate the opening of closed containers discovered during inventory searches without using the words “closed container” or other equivalent terms...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on September 19, 2010 (boomark / email).