State v. Brake, 2004 UT 95

Summary

The Utah Supreme Court held that a law enforcement officer's warrantless search of a vehicle for identification and officer-safety purposes violated the Fourth Amendment. The court rejected reliance on New York v. Class and adopted a weapons-search standard requiring a reasonable, articulable suspicion that the suspect was dangerous and that weapons might be immediately accessible. The court reversed the Utah Court of Appeals and remanded for proceedings consistent with the opinion.

Holdings

1. The application of law to facts necessary to determine the legality of a search is reviewed for correctness without deference to the lower court.
2. A warrantless vehicle search justified as a weapons search is valid only when the officer reasonably believes both that the suspect is dangerous and that the suspect may obtain immediate control of weapons.
3. The officer's warrantless entry into and search of Brake's vehicle was unlawful because the circumstances did not create a reasonable, articulable suspicion that weapons were present.

Questions Presented

1. What standard of review applies to the legality of a warrantless automobile search in a search-and-seizure case?
2. Whether an officer's generalized safety concerns, without a reasonable and articulable suspicion that the suspect is dangerous and that weapons may be present and accessible, justify a warrantless search of a vehicle interior.
3. Whether the officer's warrantless entry into and search of Brake's vehicle to retrieve identification was lawful under the Fourth Amendment.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded