Section 6.23 Inventory Searches

• Library: DWI 2014

While the courts have recognized the constitutionality of certain routine warrantless inventory searches, the facts and circumstances for conducting these searches must be compliant with the Fourth Amendment and may not be used as a mere subterfuge to avoid securing a warrant in the absence of probable cause to search for incriminating evidence. State v. Peterson, 583 S.W.2d 277, 280–82 (Mo. App. W.D. 1979). Warrantless searches of automobiles are subject to the same constitutional protections as those accorded to dwellings. Id. at 280. A routine police procedure may be reasonable unto itself, but the validity of a search conducted in accordance with a police procedure must be measured against the reasonableness requirement of the Fourth Amendment. State v. Williams, 654 S.W.2d 238, 242 (Mo. App. S.D. 1983).

A more serious question of police authority arises when the justification for a search is based on a procedure conducted without constitutional justification. A procedure such as a routine inventory search that gives the police discretion to search a vehicle when there is no basis to believe that criminal activity is involved creates a “serious and recurring threat to the privacy of countless individuals.” Ariz. v. Gant, 556 U.S. 332, 345 (2009).

In any...