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On April 21, 2009, the Supreme Court announced its decision in Arizona v. Gant. In this case, the Court considered whether police may conduct a warrantless search of a car if its recently arrested occupant no longer poses a threat to officer safety or preservation of evidence. In a 5-4 decision delivered by Justice Stevens, the Court held that police may conduct a warrantless vehicle search incident to an arrest only if it is reasonable to believe either that the arrestee might access the vehicle at the time of the search or that evidence of the offense for which the arrest was made might be found in the vehicle.

To discuss the decision, we have Supreme Court advocate Erik S. Jaffe.

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