Is it permissible to search a passenger without consent when the driver is arrested for cocaine on lips and in the door panel, with the passenger outside?

• A. Yes
• B. With probable cause
• C. Only with a warrant
• D. No

Answer: (D)

The key idea is the limits of a search incident to arrest and how it applies when there’s more than one person present. A search incident to arrest lets officers scan the arrestee and the area within the arrestee’s immediate control to find weapons or evidence and to prevent destruction or escape. For a vehicle, the scope is even more limited and, after the driver is taken into custody, you may search the vehicle’s interior only if the arrestee could have accessed it at the time or if there’s probable cause that evidence of the offense is inside. A passenger who is outside the vehicle is not within the arrestee’s reach, and there’s no stated basis to believe the passenger possesses contraband. Therefore, without the passenger’s consent or a warrant supported by probable cause, a search of the passenger is not permissible. The fact that cocaine was found on the driver or in the vehicle doesn’t by itself justify searching the passenger.