Opinion ID: 576821
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The initial search of Cox's car.

Text: 9 At the hearing on the motion to suppress, Cox argued, as he does on appeal, that the search of his car was not incident to a lawful arrest since the actual arrest did not take place until he was in the officers' car. Therefore, to search the car without a warrant required a finding of probable cause, which he contends the officers were unable to establish. 10 The law is well-established that officers may search the passenger compartment of an automobile and any containers therein without a warrant or probable cause when such a search is incident to a lawful arrest. See New York v. Belton, 453 U.S. 454, 460 (1981); United States v. Taylor, 857 F.2d 210, 214 (4th Cir.1988). The validity of the arrest in this case is undisputed. The testimony of Officer McDonald, who arrested Cox, establishes that Cox was arrested and then placed in the police cruiser. This point was reinforced by way of clarification at the suppression hearing. 11 Because a warrantless search incident to a lawful arrest is constitutionally permissible and since the search in this case was conducted in the course of a valid arrest, the district court did not err in denying Cox's motion to suppress the evidence seized as a result of the search of Cox's car. 12