7 Virginia opinions name it 2 courts 1980–2025 3 in the last five years
The cases below were cited by Virginia courts in a sentence that names this issue. Sides come from how each citing opinion treated the case (Syfertize flag on that citation), so a case can appear on both: that is where the law is contested. A red or yellow chip is the case's own overall treatment.
| Case | Followed | Cited |
|---|---|---|
Reese v. Commonwealthgreen2 sentences2013Id. at 1039 , 265 S.E.2d at 749 (emphasis added) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted); see also Servis v. Commonwealth, 6 Va.App. 507 , 371 S.E.2d 156 (1988) (discussing circumstances in which the inventory search exception applies). 2013Id. at 1039 , 265 S.E.2d at 749 (emphasis added) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted); see also Servis v. Commonwealth, 6 Va.App. 507 , 371 S.E.2d 156 (1988) (discussing circumstances in which the inventory search exception applies). | 3 | 3 |
Florida v. Wellsgreen1 sentence2025Having standardized criteria is necessary to ensure that the inventory search does not become “a ruse for a general rummaging in order to discover incriminating evidence.” Florida v. Wells, 495 U.S. 1, 4 (1990). | 1 | 1 |
Thompson v. Commonwealthgreen1 sentence2024See id. at 784 (noting that the “inventory exception does not apply when the inventory is merely ‘a pretext concealing an investigatory police motive’” and holding that the officers’ inventory search in that case was merely a pretext concealing an investigatory motive by the officers (quoting Reese v. Commonwealth, 220 Va. 1035, 1039 (1980))). -9- judged from the perspective of a[n objectively] reasonable officer on the scene allowing for the need of split-second decisions and without regard to the officer’s [subjective] intent or motivation.’” McArthur v. Commonwealth, 72 Va. App. 352 , 360 ( | 1 | 1 |
Williams v. Commonwealthgreen2 sentences2023The policy considerations that undergird this inventory search exception (also known as the community caretaker exception), are “1) the protection of the owner’s property while it remains in police custody, 2) the protection of police against claims or disputes concerning lost or stolen property, and 3) protection of the public -7- and the police from physical danger.” Williams, 42 Va. App. at 730 . 2023The impoundment and subsequent search of the vehicle must also be “conducted pursuant to standard police procedures” and “must not be a pretextual surrogate for an improper investigatory motive.” Id. at 731 ; see also Cantrell, 65 Va. App. at 60 ; Knight v. Commonwealth, 71 Va. App. 771 , 784 (2020). | 1 | 1 |
James Dean Cantrell v. Commonwealth of Virginiagreen2 sentences2023The impoundment and subsequent search of the vehicle must also be “conducted pursuant to standard police procedures” and “must not be a pretextual surrogate for an improper investigatory motive.” Id. at 731 ; see also Cantrell, 65 Va. App. at 60 ; Knight v. Commonwealth, 71 Va. App. 771 , 784 (2020). 2023Regardless of whether the vehicle was lawfully impounded, the search was not “conducted pursuant to standard police procedures” and was a “pretextual surrogate for an improper investigatory motive.” Cantrell, 65 Va. App. at 60 . | 1 | 1 |
Maryland v. Dysongreen1 sentence2016“As the United States Supreme Court has explained, if an officer . . . has probable cause to believe that [a] vehicle contains evidence of a crime, then a warrantless search of that vehicle is permissible under the automobile exception.” Duncan v. Commonwealth, 55 Va. App. 175, 179-80 , 684 S.E.2d 838, 840 (2009) (citing Maryland v. Dyson, 527 U.S. 465, 466-67 (1999)). | 1 | 1 |
Duncan v. Commonwealthgreen2 sentences2016“As the United States Supreme Court has explained, if an officer . . . has probable cause to believe that [a] vehicle contains evidence of a crime, then a warrantless search of that vehicle is permissible under the automobile exception.” Duncan v. Commonwealth, 55 Va. App. 175, 179-80 , 684 S.E.2d 838, 840 (2009) (citing Maryland v. Dyson, 527 U.S. 465, 466-67 (1999)). 2016“As the United States Supreme Court has explained, if an officer . . . has probable cause to believe that [a] vehicle contains evidence of a crime, then a warrantless search of that vehicle is permissible under the automobile exception.” Duncan v. Commonwealth, 55 Va. App. 175, 179-80 , 684 S.E.2d 838, 840 (2009) (citing Maryland v. Dyson, 527 U.S. 465, 466-67 (1999)). | 1 | 1 |
Servis v. Commonwealthgreen2 sentences2013Id. at 1039 , 265 S.E.2d at 749 (emphasis added) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted); see also Servis v. Commonwealth, 6 Va.App. 507 , 371 S.E.2d 156 (1988) (discussing circumstances in which the inventory search exception applies). 2013Id. at 1039 , 265 S.E.2d at 749 (emphasis added) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted); see also Servis v. Commonwealth, 6 Va.App. 507 , 371 S.E.2d 156 (1988) (discussing circumstances in which the inventory search exception applies). | 1 | 1 |
| Case | Negative | Cited |
|---|---|---|
| No negative-treatment citations attached to this issue in Virginia. Read the followed side critically anyway. | ||
| Case | Cited | Years |
|---|---|---|
Arizona v. Gant
green
2 sentences2016Appellant contends both that the inventory search exception to the Fourth Amendment does not permit a search of the scooter and that Arizona v. Gant, 556 U.S. 332 (2009), offers an independent basis that prohibits such a search. 2009ANALYSIS Appellant makes two arguments: (1) because the decision to tow the Ranger was pretext, Deputy Wyatt’s search was not permitted under the inventory search exception to the Fourth *179 Amendment’s warrant requirement 4 and (2) because appellant was already arrested and in the patrol car, the deputy’s search was not valid under Arizona v. Gant, — U.S.-, 129 S.Ct. 1710 , 173 L.Ed.2d 485 (2009). | 2 | 2009–2016 |
South Dakota v. Opperman
green
2 sentences2013The inventory search exception derives from what the United States Supreme Court has called law enforcement’s “community caretaking functions.” See South Dakota v. Opperman, 428 U.S. 364, 369 , 96 S.Ct. 3092, 3097 , 49 L.Ed.2d 1000 (1976). 2013The inventory search exception derives from what the United States Supreme Court has called law enforcement’s “community caretaking functions.” See South Dakota v. Opperman, 428 U.S. 364, 369 , 96 S.Ct. 3092, 3097 , 49 L.Ed.2d 1000 (1976). | 1 | 2013–2013 |
Counted by distinct opinions that both name this issue and are annotated to the section; sections every opinion cites regardless of issue are not filtered here, so read the counts against the total above.
Opinions by the citing court's state. A doctrine retained in one state and abandoned in another shows up here as a year span that stalls.