Gant Applies Beyond Search of Automobiles

US v. Davis: Davis was pulled over for overly tinted windows. After officers discovered that Davis “had a history of felony drug charges and convictions,” Davis drove off while they were still in possession of his license and proof of insurance. A high-speed chase followed in a residential neighborhood until Davis “reached a dead-end cul-de-sac, drove in between two houses and into someone’s backyard,” at which point he got out of the car carrying a backpack and started running into a swamp. Davis eventually got stuck and officers caught up. After they drew their weapons, Davis “complied by returning to dry land, dropping the backpack, and lying down on his stomach.” Davis was patted down (they found cash), handcuffed, and placed under arrest. At that point, an officer opened the backpack and found cash and cocaine. A search of Davis’ car uncovered more cash and other items, while a handgun was found along the path of Davis’ flight. The district court denied Davis’ motion to suppress the contents of the backpack and his car and was ultimately convicted of drug and firearm counts and sentenced to 420 months in prison. 

On appeal, the Fourth Circuit reversed the denial of Davis’ motion to suppress. The court addressed the issue of whether Arizona v. Gant, in which the Supreme Court addressed searches of vehicles pursuant to lawful arrests, applied outside the context of vehicles. The court concluded that it did, because while Gant involved an automobile search, the prior cases upon which it was based were not limited to that situation. As a result, police “can conduct warrantless searches of non-vehicular containers incident to a lawful arrest only when the arrestee is unsecured and within reaching distance of the [container] at the time of the search.” With that in mind, the district court erred by denying Davis’ motion to suppress, because when the backpack was searched Davis was handcuffed and not within reaching distance of it. The court contrasted this situation, where Davis was “face down on the ground win this hands behind his back” with an earlier decision approving a similar search where the defendant was “milling about” while handcuffed. Without the evidence found in the backpack the officers lacked probable cause to search the car (although they had reasonable suspicion).