Is a search of a vehicle impound search during the course of which the trunk was opened and incriminating evidence was found?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from Wimberly v. Superior Court, 128 Cal.Rptr. 641, 16 Cal.3d 557, 547 P.2d 417 (Cal. 1976):

In Mestas we were also concerned with an impound search of a vehicle during the course of which the trunk was opened and incriminating evidence was found. Relying on Mozzetti we concluded that 'while the police may observe and inventory items in plain sight, they may not, in the absence of probable cause, open and search closed areas of the vehicle or closed containers within the car.' (Mestas v. Superior Court, supra, 7 Cal.3d 537, 540, 102 Cal.Rptr. 729, 730, 498 P.2d 977, 978.)

In People v. Superior Court (Courie), supra, 44 Cal.App.3d 207, 211, footnote 5, 118 Cal.Rptr. 586, 588, the court recognized that 'a separate and distinct intrusion of defendant's privacy occurred when the trunk was unlocked and opened--an intrusion, moreover, into the area of the car in which defendant probably had the greatest reasonable expectation of privacy.'

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