Source: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/428/364/
Timestamp: 2019-04-21 06:12:05+00:00

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After respondent's car had been impounded for multiple parking violations the police, following standard procedures, inventoried the contents of the car. In doing so, they discovered marihuana in the glove compartment, for the possession of which respondent was subsequently arrested. His motion to suppress the evidence yielded by the warrantless inventory search was denied, and respondent was thereafter convicted. The State Supreme Court reversed, concluding that the evidence had been obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment as made applicable to the States by the Fourteenth.
Held: The police procedures followed in this case did not involve an "unreasonable" search in violation of the Fourth Amendment. The expectation of privacy in one's automobile is significantly less than that relating to one's home or office, Cardwell v. Lewis, 417 U. S. 583, 417 U. S. 590. When vehicles are impounded, police routinely follow caretaking procedures by securing and inventorying the cars' contents. These procedures have been widely sustained as reasonable under the Fourth Amendment. This standard practice was followed here, and there is no suggestion of any investigatory motive on the part of the police. Pp. 428 U. S. 367-376.
89 S.D. ___ , 228 N.W.2d 152, reversed and remanded.
BURGER, C.J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which BLACKMUN, POWELL, REHNQUIST, and STEVENS, JJ., joined. POWELL, J., filed a concurring opinion, post, p. 428 U. S. 376. WHITE, J., filed a dissenting statement, post, p. 428 U. S. 396. MARSHALL, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which BRENNAN and STEWART, JJ., joined, post, p. 428 U. S. 384.
officer issued a second ticket for an overtime parking violation. These circumstances were routinely reported to police headquarters, and after the vehicle was inspected, the car was towed to the city impound lot.
From outside the car at the impound lot, a police officer observed a watch on the dashboard and other items of personal property located on the back seat and back floorboard. At the officer's direction, the car door was then unlocked and, using a standard inventory form pursuant to standard police procedures, the officer inventoried the contents of the car, including the contents of the glove compartment, which was unlocked. There he found marihuana contained in a plastic bag. All items, including the contraband, were removed to the police department for safekeeping. [Footnote 1] During the late afternoon of December 10, respondent appeared at the police department to claim his property. The marihuana was retained by police.
the conviction. 89 S.D. ___, 228 N.W.2d 152. The court concluded that the evidence had been obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures. We granted certiorari, 423 U.S. 923 (1975), and we reverse.
This Court has traditionally drawn a distinction between automobiles and homes or offices in relation to the Fourth Amendment. Although automobiles are "effects," and thus within the reach of the Fourth Amendment, Cady v. Dombrowski, 413 U. S. 433, 413 U. S. 439 (1973), warrantless examinations of automobiles have been upheld in circumstances in which a search of a home or office would not. Cardwell v. Lewis, 417 U. S. 583, 417 U. S. 589 (1974); Cady v. Dombrowski, supra at 413 U. S. 439-440; Chambers v. Maroney, 399 U. S. 42, 399 U. S. 48 (1970).
for ensuring the public safety, law enforcement officials are necessarily brought into frequent contact with automobiles. Most of this contact is distinctly noncriminal in nature. Cady v. Dombrowski, supra at 413 U. S. 442. Automobiles, unlike homes, are subjected to pervasive and continuing governmental regulation and controls, including periodic inspection and licensing requirements. As an everyday occurrence, police stop and examine vehicles when license plates or inspection stickers have expired, or if other violations, such as exhaust fumes or excessive noise, are noted, or if headlights or other safety equipment are not in proper working order.
Cardwell v. Lewis, supra at 417 U. S. 590.
In the interests of public safety and as part of what the Court has called "community caretaking functions," Cady v. Dombrowski, supra at 413 U. S. 441, automobiles are frequently taken into police custody. Vehicle accidents present one such occasion. To permit the uninterrupted flow of traffic and in some circumstances to preserve evidence, disabled or damaged vehicles will often be removed from the highways or streets at the behest of police engaged solely in caretaking and traffic control activities.
Police will also frequently remove and impound automobiles which violate parking ordinances and which thereby jeopardize both the public safety and the efficient movement of vehicular traffic. [Footnote 3] The authority of police to seize and remove from the streets vehicles impeding traffic or threatening public safety and convenience is beyond challenge.
When vehicles are impounded, local police departments generally follow a routine practice of securing and inventorying the automobiles' contents. These procedures developed in response to three distinct needs: the protection of the owner's property while it remains in police custody, United States v. Mitchell, 458 F.2d 960, 961 (CA9 1972); the protection of the police against claims or disputes over lost or stolen property, United States v. Kelehar, 470 F.2d 176, 178 (CA5 1972); and the protection of the police from potential danger, Cooper v. California, supra at 386 U. S. 61-62. The practice has been viewed as essential to respond to incidents of theft or vandalism. See Cabbler v. Commonwealth, 212 Va. 520, 522, 184 S.E.2d 781, 782 (1971), cert. denied, 405 U.S. 1073 (1972); Warrix v. State, 50 Wis.2d 368, 376, 184 N.W.2d 189, 194 (1971). In addition, police frequently attempt to determine whether a vehicle has been stolen, and thereafter abandoned.
intrusion is constitutionally permissible. See, e.g., City of St. Paul v. Myles, 298 Minn. 298, 300-301, 218 N.W.2d 697, 699 (1974); State v. Tully, 166 Conn.126, 136, 348 A.2d 603, 609 (1974); People v. Trusty, 183 Colo. 291, 296-297, 516 P.2d 423, 425-426 (1973); People v. Sullivan, 29 N.Y.2d 69, 73, 272 N.E.2d 464, 466 (1971); Cabbler v. Commonwealth, supra; Warrix v. State, supra; State v. Wallen, 185 Neb. 44, 173 N.W.2d 372, cert. denied, 399 U.S. 912 (1970); State v. Criscola, 21 Utah 2d 272, 444 P.2d 517 (1968); State v. Montague, 73 Wash.2d 381, 438 P.2d 571 (1968); People v. Clark, 32 Ill.App.3d 898, 336 N.E.2d 892 (1975); State v. Achter, 512 S.W.2d 894 (Mo.Ct.App. 1974); Bennett v. State, 507 P.2d 1252 (Okla.Crim.App. 1973); People v. Willis, 46 Mich.App. 436, 208 N.W.2d 204 (1973); State v. All, 17 N.C. App. 284, 193 S.E.2d 770, cert. denied, 414 U.S. 866 (1973); Godbee v. State, 224 So.2d 441 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App. 1969). Even the seminal state decision relied on by the South Dakota Supreme Court in reaching the contrary result, Mozzetti v. Superior Court, 4 Cal.3d 699, 484 P.2d 84 (1971), expressly approved police caretaking activities resulting in the securing of property within the officer's plain view.
"[W]hen the police take custody of any sort of container [such as] an automobile . . . , it is reasonable to search the container to itemize the property to be held by the police. [This reflects] the underlying principle that the fourth amendment proscribes only unreasonable searches."
United States v. Gravitt, 484 F.2d 375, 378 (CA5 1973), cert. denied, 414 U.S. 1135 (1974) (emphasis in original).
See also Cabbler v. Superintendent, 528 F.2d 1142 (CA4 1975), cert. pending, No. 75-1463; Barker v. Johnson, 484 F.2d 941 (CA6 1973); United States v. Mitchell, 458 F.2d 960 (CA9 1972); United States v. Lipscomb, 435 F.2d 795 (CA5 1970), cert. denied, 401 U.S. 980 (1971); United States v. Pennington, 441 F.2d 249 (CA5), cert. denied, 404 U.S. 854 (1971); United States v. Boyd, 436 F.2d 1203 (CA5 1971); Cotton v. United States, 371 F.2d 385 (CA9 1967). Accord, Lowe v. Hopper, 400 F.Supp. 970, 976-977 (SD Ga.1975); United States v. Spitalieri, 391 F.Supp. 167, 169-170 (ND Ohio 1975); United States v. Smith, 340 F.Supp. 1023 (Conn.1972); United States v. Fuller, 277 F.Supp. 97 (DC 1967), conviction aff'd, 139 U.S.App.D.C. 375, 433 F.2d 533 (1970). These cases have recognized that standard inventories often include an examination of the glove compartment, since it is a customary place for documents of ownership and registration, United States v. Pennington, supra at 251, as well as a place for the temporary storage of valuables.
"But the question here is not whether the search was authorized by state law. The question is rather whether the search was reasonable under the Fourth Amendment."
Cooper v. California, 386 U.S. at 386 U. S. 61 (emphasis added).
prohibits only 'unreasonable searches and seizures.' The relevant test is not the reasonableness of the opportunity to procure a warrant, but the reasonableness of the seizure under all the circumstances. The test of reasonableness cannot be fixed by per se rules; each case must be decided on its own facts."
Coolidge v. New Hampshire, 403 U.S. at 403 U. S. 509-510 (concurring and dissenting) (emphasis added).
"It would be unreasonable to hold that the police, having to retain the car in their custody for such a length of time, had no right, even for their own protection, to search it."
carried out in accordance with standard procedures in the local police department, ibid., a factor tending to ensure that the intrusion would be limited in scope to the extent necessary to carry out the caretaking function. See United States v. Spitalieri, 391 F.Supp. at 169. In reaching this result, the Court in Cady distinguished Preston v. United States, 376 U. S. 364 (1964), on the grounds that the holding, invalidating a car search conducted after a vagrancy arrest, "stands only for the proposition that the search challenged there could not be justified as one incident to an arrest." 413 U.S. at 413 U. S. 444. Preston therefore did not raise the issue of the constitutionality of a protective inventory of a car lawfully within police custody.
"[W]hether a search and seizure is unreasonable within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment depends upon the facts and circumstances of each case. . . ."
Cooper v. California, 386 U.S. at 386 U. S. 59.
"Q. And why did you inventory this car?"
"A. Mainly for safekeeping, because we have had a lot of trouble in the past of people getting into the impound lot and breaking into cars and stealing stuff out of them."
"Q. Do you know whether the vehicles that were broken into . . . were locked or unlocked?"
"A. Both of them were locked, they would be locked."
"A. It's the old county highway yard. It has a wooden fence partially around part of it, and kind of a dilapidated wire fence, a makeshift fence."
In Camara v. Municipal Court, 387 U. S. 523 (1967), and See v. City of Seattle, 387 U. S. 541 (1967), the Court held that a warrant was required to effect an unconsented administrative entry into and inspection of private dwellings or commercial premises to ascertain health or safety conditions. In contrast, this procedure has never been held applicable to automobile inspections for safety purposes.
The New York Court of Appeals has noted that, in New York City alone, 108,332 cars were towed away for traffic violations during 1969. People v. Sullivan, 29 N.Y.2d 69, 71, 272 N.E.2d 464, 465 (1971).
"The contact with vehicles by federal law enforcement officers usually, if not always, involves the detection or investigation of crimes unrelated to the operation of a vehicle."
Cady v. Dombrowski, 413 U. S. 433, 413 U. S. 440 (1973).
In analyzing the issue of reasonableness vel non, the courts have not sought to determine whether a protective inventory was justified by "probable cause." The standard of probable cause is peculiarly related to criminal investigations, not routine, noncriminal procedures. See generally Note, Warrantless Searches and Seizures of Automobiles, 87 Harv.L.Rev. 835, 850-851 (1974). The probable cause approach is unhelpful when analysis centers upon the reasonableness of routine administrative caretaking functions, particularly when no claim is made that the protective procedures are a subterfuge for criminal investigations.
In view of the noncriminal context of inventory searches, and the inapplicability in such a setting of the requirement of probable cause, courts have held -- and quite correctly -- that search warrants are not required, linked as the warrant requirement textually is to the probable cause concept. We have frequently observed that the warrant requirement assures that legal inferences and conclusions as to probable cause will be drawn by a neutral magistrate unrelated to the criminal investigative enforcement process. With respect to noninvestigative police inventories of automobiles lawfully within governmental custody, however, the policies underlying the warrant requirement, to which MR. JUSTICE POWELL refers, are inapplicable.
Given the benign noncriminal context of the intrusion, see Wyman v. James, 400 U. S. 309, 400 U. S. 317 (1971), some courts have concluded that an inventory does not constitute a search for Fourth Amendment purposes. See, e.g., People v. Sullivan, supra at 77, 272 N.E.2d at 469; People v. Willis, 46 Mich.App. 436, 208 N.W.2d 204 (1973); State v. Wallen, 185 Neb. 44, 49-50, 173 N.W.2d 372, 376, cert. denied, 399 U.S. 912 (1970). Other courts have expressed doubts as to whether the intrusion is classifiable as a search. State v. All, 17 N.C. App. 284, 286, 193 S.E.2d 770, 772, cert. denied, 414 U.S. 866 (1973). Petitioner, however, has expressly abandoned the contention that the inventory in this case is exempt from the Fourth Amendment standard of reasonableness. Tr. of Oral Arg. 5.
There was, of course, no certainty at the time of the search that forfeiture proceedings would ever be held. Accordingly, there was no reason for the police to assume automatically that the automobile would eventually be forfeited to the State. Indeed, as the California Court of Appeal stated, "[T]he instant record nowhere discloses that forfeiture proceedings were instituted in respect to defendant's car. . . ." People v. Cooper, 234 Cal.App.2d 587, 596, 44 Cal.Rptr. 483, 489 (1965). No reason would therefore appear to limit Cooper to an impoundment pursuant to a forfeiture statute.
question requires a weighing of the governmental and societal interests advanced to justify such intrusions against the constitutionally protected interest of the individual citizen in the privacy of his effects. United States v. Martinez-Fuerte, post at 428 U. S. 555; United States v. Brignoni-Ponce, supra at 422 U. S. 878-879; United States v. Ortiz, 422 U. S. 891, 422 U. S. 892 (1975); Cady v. Dombrowski, 413 U. S. 433, 413 U. S. 447 8 (1973); Terry v. Ohio, 392 U. S. 1, 392 U. S. 20-21 (1968). Cf. Camara v. Municipal Court, supra at 387 U. S. 534-535. As noted in the Court's opinion, see ante at 428 U. S. 369, three interests generally have been advanced in support of inventory searches: (i) protection of the police from danger; (ii) protection of the police against claims and disputes over lost or stolen property; and (iii) protection of the owner's property while it remains in police custody.
is not clear, however, that inventories are a completely effective means of discouraging false claims, since there remains the possibility of accompanying such claims with an assertion that an item was stolen prior to the inventory or was intentionally omitted from the police records.
"[s]earches conducted without warrants have been held unlawful 'notwithstanding facts unquestionably showing probable cause,' Agnello v. United States, 269 U. S. 20, 269 U. S. 33, for the Constitution requires 'that the deliberate, impartial judgment of a judicial officer . . . be interposed between the citizen and the police. . . .' Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U. S. 471, 371 U. S. 481-482."
"[s]ome have argued that '[t]he relevant test is not whether it is reasonable to procure a search warrant, but whether the search was reasonable,' United States v. Rabinowitz, 339 U. S. 56, 339 U. S. 66 (1950),"
Camara v. Municipal Court, supra at 387 U. S. 528; United States v. Jeffers, 342 U. S. 48, 342 U. S. 51 (1951); Agnello v. United States, 269 U. S. 20, 269 U. S. 30 (1925).
conditioned on warrants issued by a judicial officer reveals that none of these is implicated here. A warrant may issue only upon "probable cause." In the criminal context, the requirement of a warrant protects the individual's legitimate expectation of privacy against the overzealous police officer.
"Its protection consists in requiring that those inferences [concerning probable cause] be drawn by a neutral and detached magistrate, instead of being judged by the officer engaged in the often competitive enterprise of ferreting out crime."
Johnson v. United States, 333 U. S. 10, 333 U. S. 14 (1948). See, e.g., United States v. United States District Court, supra at 407 U. S. 316-318. Inventory searches, however, are not conducted in order to discover evidence of crime. The officer does not make a discretionary determination to search based on a judgment that certain conditions are present. Inventory searches are conducted in accordance with established police department rules or policy, and occur whenever an automobile is seized. There are thus no special facts for a neutral magistrate to evaluate.
A related purpose of the warrant requirement is to prevent hindsight from affecting the evaluation of the reasonableness of a search. See United States v. Martinez-Fuerte, post at 428 U. S. 565; cf. United States v. Watson, 423 U. S. 411, 423 U. S. 455 n. 22 (1976) (MARSHALL, J., dissenting). In the case of an inventory search conducted in accordance with standard police department procedures, there is no significant danger of hindsight justification. The absence of a warrant will not impair the effectiveness of post-search review of the reasonableness of a particular inventory search.
"[t]he practical effect of [the existing warrantless search procedures had been] to leave the occupant subject to the discretion of the official in the field,"
"when [an] inspector demands entry, the occupant ha[d] no way of knowing whether enforcement of the municipal code involved require[d] inspection of his premises, no way of knowing the lawful limits of the inspector's power to search, and no way of knowing whether the inspector himself [was] acting under proper authorization."
Routine inventories of automobiles intrude upon an area in which the private citizen has a "reasonable expectation of privacy." Katz v. United States, 389 U. S. 347, 389 U. S. 360 (1967) (Harlan, J., concurring). Thus, despite their benign purpose, when conducted by government officials, they constitute "searches" for purposes of the Fourth Amendment. See Terry v. Ohio, 392 U. S. 1, 392 U. S. 18 n. 15 (1968); United States v.Lawson, 487 F.2d 468 (CA8 1973); Mozzetti v. Superior Court, 4 Cal.3d 699, 709-710, 484 P.2d 84, 90-91 (1971) (en banc). Cf. Cardwell v. Lewis, 417 U. S. 583, 417 U. S. 591 (1974) (plurality opinion).
The principal decisions relied on by the State to justify the inventory search in this case, Harris v. United States, 390 U. S. 234 (1968); Cooper v. California, 386 U. S. 58 (1967); and Cady v. Dombrowski, 413 U. S. 433 (1973), each relied in part on significant factors not found here. Harris only involved an application of the "plain view" doctrine. In Cooper, the Court validated an automobile search that took place one week after the vehicle was impounded on the theory that the police had a possessory interest in the car based on a state forfeiture statute requiring them to retain it some four months until the forfeiture sale. See 386 U.S. at 386 U. S. 61-62. Finally, in Cady, the Court held that the search of an automobile trunk "which the officer reasonably believed to contain a gun" was not unreasonable within the meaning of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. 413 U.S. at 413 U. S. 448. See also id. at 413 U. S. 436-437. The police in a typical inventory search case, however, will have no reasonable belief as to the particular automobile's contents. And, although the police in this case knew with certainty that there were items of personal property within the exposed interior of the car -- i.e., the watch on the dashboard -- see ante at 428 U. S. 366, this information alone did not, in the circumstances of this case, provide additional justification for the search of the closed console glove compartment in which the contraband was discovered.
The interest in protecting the police from liability for lost or stolen property is not relevant in this case. Respondent's motion to suppress was limited to items inside the automobile not in plain view. And the Supreme Court of South Dakota here held that the removal of objects in plain view, and the closing of windows and locking of doors, satisfied any duty the police department owed the automobile's owner to protect property in police possession. 89 S.D. ___, ___, 228 N.W.2d 152, 159 (1975).
See Mozzetti v. Superior Court, supra at 709-710, 484 P.2d at 991.
A complete "inventory report" is required of all vehicles impounded by the Vermillion Police Department. The standard inventory consists of a survey of the vehicle's exterior -- windows, fenders, trunk, and hood -- apparently for damage, and its interior, to locate "valuables" for storage. As part of each inventory a standard report form is completed. The report in this case listed the items discovered in both the automobile's interior and the unlocked glove compartment. The only notation regarding the trunk was that it was locked. A police officer testified that all impounded vehicles are searched, that the search always includes the glove compartment, and that the trunk had not been searched in this case because it was locked. See Record 33-34, 73-79.
As part of their inventory search, the police may discover materials such as letters or checkbooks that "touch upon intimate areas of an individual's personal affairs," and "reveal much about a person's activities, associations, and beliefs." California Bankers Assn. v. Shultz, 416 U. S. 21, 416 U. S. 78-79 (1974) (POWELL, J., concurring). See also Fisher v. United States, 425 U. S. 391, 425 U. S. 401 n. 7 (1976). In this case, the police found, inter alia, "miscellaneous papers," a checkbook, an installment loan book, and a social security status card. Record 77. There is, however, no evidence in the record that, in carrying out their established inventory duties, the Vermillion police do other than search for and remove for storage such property without examining its contents.
This difference turns primarily on the mobility of the automobile and the impracticability of obtaining a warrant in many circumstances, e.g., Carroll v. United States, 267 U. S. 132, 267 U. S. 153-154 (1925). The lesser expectation of privacy in an automobile also is important. See United States v. Ortiz, 422 U. S. 891, 422 U. S. 896 n. 2 (1975); Cardwell v. Lewis, 417 U.S. at 417 U. S. 590; Almeida-Sanchez v. United States, 413 U. S. 266, 413 U. S. 279 (1973) (POWELL, J., concurring). See Cady v. Dombrowski, 413 U.S. at 413 U. S. 441-442.
See, e.g., Chimel v. California, 395 U. S. 752 (1969); Terry v. Ohio, 392 U. S. 1 (1968); Warden v. Hayden, 387 U. S. 294, 387 U. S. 298-300 (1967); Cooper v. California, 386 U. S. 58 (1967); Brinegar v. United States, 338 U. S. 160, 338 U. S. 174-177 (1949); Carroll v. United States, supra at 267 U. S. 153, 267 U. S. 156. See also McDonald v. United States, 335 U. S. 451, 335 U. S. 454-456 (1948); United States v. Mapp, 476 F.2d 67, 76 (CA2 1973) (listing then-recognized exceptions to warrant requirement: (i) hot pursuit; (ii) plain view doctrine; (iii) emergency situation; (iv) automobile search; (v) consent; and (vi) incident to arrest).
In this case, for example, the officer who conducted the search testified that the offending automobile was towed to the city impound lot after a second ticket had been issued for a parking violation. The officer further testified that all vehicles taken to the lot are searched in accordance with a "standard inventory sheet," and "all items [discovered in the vehicles] are removed for safekeeping." Record 74. See n. 6, supra.
glove compartment of a locked automobile impounded for ordinary traffic violations. Under the Court's holding, such a search may be made without attempting to secure the consent of the owner and without any particular reason to believe the impounded automobile contains contraband, evidence, or valuables, or presents any danger to its custodians or the public. [Footnote 3/1] Because I believe this holding to be contrary to sound elaboration of established Fourth Amendment principles, I dissent.
alluded to by the Court, and further discussed by MR. JUSTICE POWELL, are insufficient to justify the Court's result in this case.
"three distinct needs: the protection of the owner's property while it remains in police custody . . . ; the protection of the police against claims or disputes over lost or stolen property . . . ; and the protection of the police from potential danger."
Ante at 428 U. S. 369. [Footnote 3/7] This suggestion is flagrantly misleading, however, because the record of this case explicitly belies any relevance of the last two concerns. In any event, it is my view that none of these "needs," separately or together, can suffice to justify the inventory search procedure approved by the Court.
the same protective end, [Footnote 3/11] I cannot agree with the Court's conclusion. The Court's result authorizes -- indeed it appears to require -- the routine search of nearly every [Footnote 3/12] car impounded. [Footnote 3/13] In my view, the Constitution does not permit such searches as a matter of routine; absent specific consent, such a search is permissible only in exceptional circumstances of particular necessity.
"[I]n justifying the particular intrusion, the police officer must be able to point to specific and articulable facts which . . reasonably warrant that intrusion."
"specificity in the information upon which police action is predicated is the central teaching of this Court's Fourth Amendment jurisprudence,"
Amendment, as recognized in countless decisions of this Court, is to safeguard the privacy and security of individuals against arbitrary invasions by governmental officials."
lot would prove a less secure location against pilferage, [Footnote 3/17] cf. Mozzetti v. Superior Court, 4 Cal.2d 699, 707, 484 P.2d 84, 89 (1971), particularly when it would seem likely that the owner would claim his car and its contents promptly, at least if it contained valuables worth protecting. [Footnote 3/18] Even if the police had cause to believe that the impounded car's glove compartment contained particular valuables, however, they made no effort to secure the owner's consent to the search. Although the Court relies, as it must, upon the fact that respondent was not present to make other arrangements for the care of his belongings, ante at 428 U. S. 375, in my view, that is not the end of the inquiry. Here, the police readily ascertained the ownership of the vehicle, Record 98-99, yet they searched it immediately without taking any steps to locate respondent and procure his consent to the inventory or advise him to make alternative arrangements to safeguard his property, id. at 32, 72, 73, 79. Such a failure is inconsistent with the rationale that the inventory procedure is carried out for the benefit of the owner.
protected by the Fourth Amendment. For this reason, I dissent. On the remand, it should be clear in any event that this Court's holding does not preclude a contrary resolution of this case or others involving the same issues under any applicable state law. See Oregon v. Hass, 420 U. S. 714, 420 U. S. 726 (1975) (MARSHALL, J., dissenting).
"It is surely anomalous to say that the individual and his private property are fully protected by the Fourth Amendment only when the individual is suspected of criminal behavior."
See also Cooper v. California, 386 U. S. 58, 386 U. S. 61 (1967), quoted in n. 5, infra. Indeed, the Court recognized in Harris v. United States, 390 U. S. 234, 390 U. S. 236 (1968), that the procedure invoked here would constitute a search for Fourth Amendment purposes.
This is, of course, "probable cause in the sense of specific knowledge about a particular automobile." Almeida-Sanchez v. United States, 413 U. S. 266, 413 U. S. 281 (1973) (POWELL, J., concurring).
In its opinion below, the Supreme Court of South Dakota stated that, in its view, the police were constitutionally justified in entering the car to remove, list, and secure objects in plain view from the outside of the car. 89 S.D. ___, ___, 228 N.W.2d 152, 158-159 (1975). This issue is not presented on certiorari here.
Contrary to the Court's assertion, however, ante at 428 U. S. 375-376, the search of respondent's car was not in any way "prompted by the presence in plain view of a number of valuables inside the car." In fact, the record plainly states that every vehicle taken to the city impound lot was inventoried, Record 33, 74, 75, and that, as a matter of "standard procedure," "every inventory search" would involve entry into the car's closed glove compartment. Id. at 43, 44. See also Tr. of Oral Arg. 7. In any case, as MR. JUSTICE POWELL recognizes, ante at 428 U. S. 377-378, n. 2, entry to remove plain view articles from the car could not justify a further search into the car's closed areas. Cf. Chimel v. California, 395 U. S. 752, 395 U. S. 763, 395 U. S. 764-768 (1969). Despite the Court's confusion on this point -- further reflected by its discussion of Mozzetti v. Superior Court, 4 Cal.3d 699, 484 P.2d 84 (1971), ante at 428 U. S. 371, and its reliance on state and lower federal court cases approving nothing more than inventorying of plain view items, e.g., Barker v. Johnson, 484 F.2d 941 (CA6 1973); United States v. Mitchell, 458 F.2d 960' (CA9 1972); United States v. Fuller, 277 F.Supp. 97 (DC 1967), conviction aff'd, 139 U.S.App.D.C. 375, 433 F.2d 533 (1970); State v. Tully, 166 Conn.126, 348 A.2d 603 (1974); State v. Achter, 512 S.W.2d 894 (Mo.Ct.App. 1974); State v. All, 17 N.C.App. 284, 193 S.E.2d 770, cert. denied, 414 U.S. 866 (1973) -- I must conclude that the Court's holding also permits the intrusion into a car and its console even in the absence of articles in plain view.
Moreover, as the Court observed in Cooper v. California, supra at 386 U. S. 61: "[L]awful custody of an automobile does not, of itself, dispense with constitutional requirements of searches thereafter made of it.'"
It would be wholly unrealistic to say that there is no reasonable and actual expectation in maintaining the privacy of closed compartments of a locked automobile when it is customary for people in this day to carry their most personal and private papers and effects in their automobiles from time to time. Cf. Katz v. United States, 389 U. S. 347, 389 U. S. 352 (1967) (opinion of the Court); id. at 389 U. S. 361 (Harlan, J., concurring). Indeed, this fact is implicit in the very basis of the Court's holding -- that such compartments may contain valuables in need of safeguarding.
MR. JUSTICE POWELL observes, ante at 428 U. S. 380, and n. 7, that the police would not be justified in sifting through papers secured under the procedure employed here. I agree with this, and I note that the Court's opinion does not authorize the inspection of suitcases, boxes, or other containers which might themselves be sealed, removed, and secured without further intrusion. See, e.g., United States v.Lawson, 487 F.2d 468 (CA8 1973); State v. McDougal, 68 Wis.2d 399, 228 N.W.2d 671 (1975); Mozzetti v. Superior Court, supra. But this limitation does not remedy the Fourth Amendment intrusion when the simple inventorying of closed areas discloses tokens, literature, medicines, or other things which on their face may "reveal much about a person's activities, associations, and beliefs," California Bankers Assn. v. Shultz, 416 U. S. 21, 416 U. S. 78-79 (1974) (POWELL, J., concurring).
The Court also observes that, "[i]n addition, police frequently attempt to determine whether a vehicle has been stolen and thereafter abandoned." Ante at 428 U. S. 369. The Court places no reliance on this concern in this case, however, nor could it. There is no suggestion that the police suspected that respondent's car was stolen, or that their search was directed at, or stopped with, a determination of the car's ownership. Indeed, although the police readily identified the car as respondent's, Record 98-99, the record does not show that they ever sought to contact him.
The very premise of the State's chief argument, that the cars must be searched in order to protect valuables because no guard is posted around the vehicles, itself belies the argument that they must be searched at the city lot in order to protect the police there. These circumstances alone suffice to distinguish the dicta from Cooper v. California, 386 U.S. at 386 U. S. 61-62, recited by the Court, ante at 428 U. S. 373.
The Court suggests a further "crucial" justification for the search in this case: "protection of the public from vandals who might find a firearm, Cady v. Dombrowski, [413 U.S. 433 (1973)], or as here, contraband drugs" (emphasis added). Ante at 428 U. S. 376 n. 10. This rationale, too, is absolutely without support in this record. There is simply no indication the police were looking for dangerous items. Indeed, even though the police found shotgun shells in the interior of the car, they never opened the trunk to determine whether it might contain a shotgun. Cf. Cady, supra. Aside from this, the suggestion is simply untenable as a matter of law. If this asserted rationale justifies search of all impounded automobiles, it must logically also justify the search of all automobiles, whether impounded or not, located in a similar area, for the argument is not based upon the custodial role of the police. See also Cooper v. California, supra at 386 U. S. 61, quoted in n. 5, supra. But this Court has never permitted the search of any car or home on the mere undifferentiated assumption that it might be vandalized and the vandals might find dangerous weapons or substances. Certainly Cady v. Dombrowski, permitting a limited search of a wrecked automobile where, inter alia, the police had a reasonable belief that the car contained a specific firearm, 413 U.S. at 413 U. S. 448, does not so hold.
Even were the State to impose a higher standard of custodial responsibility upon the police, however, it is equally clear that such a requirement must be read in light of the Fourth Amendment's preeminence to require protective measures other than interior examination of closed areas.
Indeed, if such claims can be deterred at all, they might more effectively be deterred by sealing the doors and trunk of the car, so that an unbroken seal would certify that the car had not been opened during custody. See Cabbler v. Superintendent, 374 F.Supp. 690, 700 (ED Va.1974), rev'd, 528 F.2d 1142 (CA4 1975), cert. pending, No. 75-1463.
I do not believe, however, that the Court is entitled to make this assumption, there being no such indication in the record. Cf. Cady v. Dombrowski, supra at 413 U. S. 447.
The Court makes clear, ante at 428 U. S. 375, that the police may not proceed to search an impounded car if the owner is able to make other arrangements for the safekeeping of his belongings. Additionally, while the Court does not require consent before a search, it does not hold that the police may proceed with such a search in the face of the owner's denial of permission. In my view, if the owner of the vehicle is in police custody or otherwise in communication with the police, his consent to the inventory is prerequisite to an inventory search. See Cabbler v. Superintendent, supra at 700; cf. State v. McDougal, 68 Wis.2d at 413, 228 N.W.2d at 678; Mozzetti v. Superior Court, 4 Cal.3d at 708, 484 P.2d at 89.
The Court makes much of the fact that the search here was a routine procedure, and attempts to analogize Cady v. Dombrowski. But it is quite clear that the routine in Cady was only to search where there was a reasonable belief that the car contained a dangerous weapon, 413 U.S. at 413 U. S. 443; see Dombrowski v. Cady, 319 F.Supp. 530, 532 (ED Wis.1970), not, as here, to search every car in custody without particular cause.
Even if it may be true that many persons would ordinarily consent to a protective inventory of their car upon its impoundment, this fact is not dispositive since even a majority lacks authority to consent to the search of all cars in order to assure the search of theirs. Cf. United States v. Matlock, 415 U. S. 164, 415 U. S. 171 (1974); Stoner v. California, 376 U. S. 483 (1964).
Additionally, although not relevant on this record, since the inventory procedure is premised upon benefit to the owner, it cannot be executed in any case in which there is reason to believe the owner would prefer to forgo it. This principle, which is fully consistent with the Court's result today, requires, for example, that, when the police harbor suspicions (amounting to less than probable cause) that evidence or contraband may be found inside the automobile, they may not inventory it, for they must presume that the owner would refuse to permit the search.
While evidence at the suppression hearing suggested that the inventory procedures were prompted by past thefts at the impound lot, the testimony refers to only two such thefts, see ante at 428 U. S. 366 n. 1, over an undisclosed period of time. There is no reason on this record to believe that the likelihood of pilferage at the lot was higher or lower than that on the street where respondent left his car with valuables in plain view inside. Moreover, the failure of the police to secure such frequently stolen items as the car's battery, suggests that the risk of loss from the impoundment was not, in fact, thought severe.
Although I do not subscribe to all of my Brother MARSHALL's dissenting opinion, particularly some aspects of his discussion concerning the necessity for obtaining the consent of the car owner, I agree with most of his analysis and conclusions, and consequently dissent from the judgment of the Court.

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