Cook County Public Defenders Blog

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Car Search Unconstitutional Although Defendant Arrested Five Feet Away

Following a traffic stop, Lavar Bridgewater was less than cooperative with the police. He walked away from the car into a store, then out of the store refusing to give the officers his license and proof of insurance because “he had done nothing wrong.”  Bridgewater refused to remove his hands from his pockets or put them on the store window. He was then arrested five feet from his car for obstructing a peace officer. He was cuffed and placed in the officer’s vehicle. Bridgewater’s car was then searched revealing a weapon. Our Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s order suppressing the gun, following the U.S. Supreme Court‘s recent decision in Arizona v Gant, 173 L. Ed. 485 (2009). Read People v Bridgewater, No. 105075 10/29/09.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 30th, 2009 at 2:03 pm and is filed under Hot Legal Topics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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