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Arizona V. Gant: Decoding The Meaning Of Reasonable Belief, Geoffrey S. Corn

Geoffrey S. Corn

This article addresses the uncertainty created by the Supreme Court’s decision in Arizona v. Gant as to when police may search an automobile after the recent arrestee is secured and no longer able to access the vehicle. In Gant, the Court authorized such a search whenever the police have ‘reasonable belief’ evidence related to the crime of arrest may be in the automobile. However, the Court did not define the meaning of reasonable belief. This has led to various lower court interpretations, ranging from reasonable suspicion to probable cuase.

This article first explains why treating reasonable belief as synonymous with …