California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Superior Court (Valdez), 196 Cal.Rptr. 359, 35 Cal.3d 11, 671 P.2d 863 (Cal. 1983):
The same reasoning holds for the search of the trunk. In situations where the "highly movable nature" of the entire automobile would render compliance with the warrant requirement "an impossible or impractical alternative" (People v. Dumas, supra, 9 Cal.3d at p. 884, 109 Cal.Rptr. 304, 512 P.2d 1208), that exigency would excuse the warrant requirement in a search of any of its parts, such as the trunk.
Reaffirmation of the exigent circumstances requirement under the California Constitution would give law enforcement full authority to conduct a warrantless search when there is a genuine need to do so. Also, the resulting rule would be a fair one. "Where genuine exigencies exist, broad constitutional mandates often give way to the necessity for immediate action ...." (People v. Ramey (1976) 16 Cal.3d 263, 275, 127 Cal.Rptr. 629, 545 P.2d 1333.) If the circumstances of the situation demanded noncompliance with the warrant requirement, the state's interest in preserving evidence of a crime would outweigh the
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