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MA: Where there was RS of weapons in the car, a locked glove box was subject to frisk

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Given that there was reasonable suspicion that the occupants of the car might be armed and dangerous, the fact the glove compartment had just been locked did not mean that it could not be subjected to a Long-type frisk for a weapon. The keys were available to anyone in the car, and it could still be opened. Commonwealth v. Graham, 2010 Mass. App. LEXIS 1343 (October 19, 2010). Given that defendant’s vehicle was lawfully seized with probable cause after it and he matched a 911 call about a violent crime, the vehicle was lawfully searched under the automobile exception 2 ½ hours after the stop at the impound lot. Cars on the lot were not sufficiently protected from access by outsiders to remove exigency, and officers validly waited for a specially trained officer to arrive to search for hidden compartments...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on October 22, 2010 (boomark / email).