Opinion ID: 292407
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: SEARCH OF McGEE'S AUTOMOBILE.

Text: 29 A search of McGee's automobile was conducted pursuant to a warrant issued by the United States Commissioner. No challenge is made of the validity of the warrant or of the sufficiency of the underlying affidavit. The challenge is wholly based upon the contention that the automobile — a package of personal effects — was, at the time of the search, improperly impounded by the Mobile Police Department; therefore, all of the effects of Seay and McGee which were searched and retained for use as evidence were already the subject of a collusive State-Federal seizure which violated the Fourth Amendment. 30 The answer to this contention is that the automobile and its contents were not shown to have been under legal seizure by the Mobile police in connection with the vagrancy charge lodged against the defendants. Rather, the record shows that at the time that the defendants and their wives were arrested, officers took the key to the automobile only long enough to put the transmission in neutral for towing to a more suitable place for temporary storage and, having done this, they returned the key to McGee. Neither Seay nor McGee undertook to show that any attempt had been made by their wives or friends to obtain the use of the car during any part of the time they remained in the Mobile jail or that its use was denied to anyone. 9 The actions of the police in removing the car from a privately owned shopping center parking lot to a regular place of automobile storage was consistent with the police department's responsibility for safekeeping while its owner was in their custody and was altogether reasonable and was not shown to be a seizure that violated the Fourth Amendment rights of either defendant. 10