Court Opinion

ID: 9534521
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 04:40:33.690856+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:31:10.139002
License: Public Domain

TAYLOR, Justice
(concurring in part and dissenting in part).
I concur in the opinion submitted by-Justice Knudson on all points decided except the holding that the evidence discovered by the search of defendant’s automobile was inadmissible. The decision on that point is based upon Preston v. United States, 376 U.S. 364, 84 S.Ct. 881, 11 L.Ed. 2d 777. I completely disagree with the reasoning of the court in the Preston case. An automobile is not to be compared with the person of an accused, nor with his house, papers or effects. The result reached in the Preston case is not remotely related to the protection sought by those who drafted and adopted the 4th amendment.
Upon the making of a lawful arrest of one charged with, or suspected of, a felony, the search of the accused’s automobile in connection with the immediate investigation of the charge, whether in the presence of the accused upon the making of the arrest or at such other place and time as may reasonably be required by the circumstances surrounding the investigation, is not an unreasonable search. In my opinion, it is the duty and right of the officers to make such a search, and the state should have the benefit of any evidence so discovered for the more adequate protection of its citizens. The rule of the Preston case is a major roadblock in the way of apprehending and punishing criminals, and should be reversed. The present astronomical acceleration of crime is evidence of the damaging effect of such decisions, and I have not discovered any compensating benefit, and none has been called to my attention.