People v. Torres (2010)
The Court of Appeals of California (Fourth District, Division Three) issued a ruling that limits vehicle searches by police after they have pulled someone over for a traffic violation or some other alleged offense.
People v. Torres concerns Alfredo Torres and the search of his vehicle after he was pulled over by an Orange County Sheriff's deputy for failing to signal a turn and making an unsafe lane change. Torres told the deputy that he did not have a valid driver's license and gave the deputy his consent to search him. When the deputy found 4 cellular phones and $965 cash, he impounded the defendant's truck. After waiting for another officer to come to the scene, the deputy took an inventory of the truck's contents, which included a pay/owe sheet (often used to log drug sales) and methamphetamine. A later search of Torres's home turned up $100,000 cash, a firearm, other drugs, and equipment related to drug trafficking.
Motions filed by Torres's defense attorney to suppress the evidence were denied. Torres pled guilty and was sentenced to three years in prison, but then appealed the outcome of his case.
In its ruling, the appellate court first took up the question of whether the traffic stop was valid and determined that it was since the deputy saw Torres commit the violations. When the court turned its attention to the vehicle impoundment and inventory search, however, it determined that these actions were unlawful. The court's reasoning was that the deputy stated during his testimony at the preliminary hearing that his principle reason for impounding the truck was to give him the chance to perform an inventory search. Impounding a vehicle as a pretext or ruse to conduct a search of that vehicle makes that search invalid.
Moreover, the search was also invalid because the officer did not assert that the vehicle impoundment and subsequent inventory search were necessary as part of the community caretaking function concerning vehicles that block traffic, are at risk of vandalism, or are illegally parked.
