Opinion ID: 1309215
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Validity of Booking Search

Text: Prior to trial, defendant moved to suppress certain incriminating evidence (defendant's ownership and sale of the kidnap vehicle) based on asserted illegality by the police following defendant's arrest. Defendant, arrested on an unrelated charge, was taken to the Hayward jail and an inventory was conducted of his belongings, including the contents of his wallet. The booking officer listed, among other items, a wrecking company's receipt for a 1961 Ford car. Defendant's property was placed in a locker where other inmates' property was stored. Thereafter, defendant was transferred to the Albany jail where, on booking, an Albany officer reinventoried defendant's property. The various papers in defendant's possession were examined by Sergeant Stirling, who was investigating the Albany kidnapping of Michele G., as previously discussed. Stirling, thinking that defendant and his 1961 Ford might match the suspect and vehicle described in the Salazar murder case, contacted Sergeant Hess of the Alameda Sheriff's Department, who was the investigating officer in that case. Shortly thereafter, witness Irons was brought to the wrecking company where he identified the 1961 Ford as the Salazar kidnap vehicle. (16) Defendant first contends that the officers exceeded the permissible scope of a routine warrantless booking search when they examined the papers contained in defendant's wallet. Defendant argues that jail security and other legitimate concerns can be adequately maintained by simply storing closed containers such as wallets, rather than opening and probing their contents. The United States Supreme Court recently rejected the argument advanced by defendant here, concluding that inventory searches into closed containers are constitutionally permissible if conducted as part of the booking process. ( Illinois v. Lafayette (1983) 462 U.S. 640, 643-648 [77 L.Ed.2d 65, 69-73, 103 S.Ct. 2605].) The high court observed that such a thorough inventory was supported by a range of governmental interests, including prevention of theft and false claims thereof, and detecting dangerous, concealable items such as drugs or weapons. The court declined to invalidate the search merely because the foregoing ends could have been achieved through less intrusive means. The Lafayette court concluded that the officers properly conducted a thorough inspection of the suspect's shoulder bag. We recently adopted Lafayette's holding in People v. Miranda (1987) 44 Cal.3d 57, 80-82 [241 Cal. Rptr. 594, 744 P.2d 1127], wherein we upheld a booking search of an envelope and its contents, found in defendant's pants pocket. Thus, both Lafayette and Miranda support the warrantless search of defendant's wallet in the present case. Likewise, we reject defendant's contention that the officers should not have read the papers discovered in defendant's wallet, after finding no weapons or contraband. A reasonably complete inventory would include identifying the document seized and, like the letter in Miranda, it was necessary to read the car receipt in order to properly identify and inventory it. Finally, defendant challenges the second look at defendant's papers which occurred when defendant was transferred to Albany jail. But we see no compelling reason for holding that, on transfer of a suspect to another facility, a second booking search may not be conducted. There is no indication that the transfer was made for purposes of conducting an additional search of defendant's papers.