Court Opinion

ID: 9584542
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 22:49:47.693561+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:08:24.971142
License: Public Domain

Birdsong, Judge,
concurring specially.
I am constrained to concur. See Love v. State, 144 Ga. App. 728 (242 SE2d 278); however, in my opinion the status of search and seizure in Georgia remains unclear.
It now appears settled, by the Supreme Court of our land, that an officer at the time of a lawful arrest may, without warrant, make a full search of the person of the accused (United States v. Robinson, 414 U. S. 218 (94 SC 467, 38 LE2d 427)), a limited area within the control of the person arrested (Chimel v. California, 395 U. S. 752 (89 SC 2034, 23 LE2d 685)) and of an automobile in his possession at the scene of the arrest for the discovery and preservation of criminal evidence (Adams v. Williams, 407 U. S. 143 (92 SC 1921, 32 LE2d 612)) and this is true even though the actual search of the vehicle may occur later at the station house (Texas v. White, 423 U. S. 67 (96 SC 304, 46 LE2d 209)). See Glover v. State, 139 Ga. App. 162, 165 (227 SE2d 921).
Where the search of an automobile within the custody or control of the arrestee is involved, after probable cause for a custodial arrest, the arresting officer, without benefit of warrant, has the authority to completely search the car at the time of arrest, without regard to questions of exigency, protection of the arresting officer, or probable cause, but as a sole consequence of the arrest.
As was stated in Chambers v. Maroney, 399 U. S. 42 (90 SC 1975, 26 LE2d 419, 428), "For constitutional purposes, we see no difference between on the one hand seizing and holding a car before presenting the probable cause issue to a magistrate and on the other hand carrying out an immediate search without a warrant. Given *296probable cause to search, either course is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment.” Love v. State, supra, seems to support a principle that in spite of the lawfulness of an arrest, the search of an automobile in the control or custody of the arrestee is dependent upon exigent circumstances, protection of the officer or probable cause separate from that of the arrest.