What is the basis for a warrantless search of an arrestee's purse?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Laiwa, 195 Cal.Rptr. 503, 34 Cal.3d 711, 669 P.2d 1278 (Cal. 1983):
The Attorney General relies primarily on People v. Bullwinkle (1980) 105 Cal.App.3d 82, 86-90, 164 Cal.Rptr. 163. 8 In Bullwinkle a Court of Appeal upheld a warrantless search of an arrestee's purse conducted prior to booking. The court stressed that because the suspect had been arrested on a felony warrant, she would inevitably have been jailed in any event, and her purse would have been searched at that time as part of the booking process. The court then reasoned that "Where it is shown that
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