Is a motorcycle considered a vehicle "in" for the purposes of the Fourth Amendment?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Needham, 79 Cal.App.4th 260, 93 Cal.Rptr.2d 899 (Cal. App. 2000):

For purposes of the Fourth Amendment, "containers attached to the car . . . are 'in' the car." (See Wyoming v. Houghton (1999) 526 U.S. 295, ___[119 S.Ct. 1297, 1301] [addressing the need for probable cause to search for incriminating evidence in a car].) We see no reason to treat motorcycles differently from cars in this respect. A motorcycle, like a car, is a vehicle. Thus, containers attached to a vehicle, whether a motorcycle or a car, are considered "in" the vehicle for purposes of the Fourth Amendment.

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