Did a police officer violate the constitution by inspecting a stolen motorbike?

FIVE years ago, Ryan Collins evaded police in Albermarle County, Virgnia by weaving through traffic at more than 140mph. But they caught up with him. Weeks later, after tracking down the extended-frame Suzuki Mr Collins had been driving, and finding it hidden under a tarp next to his girlfriend’s house, a police officer walked on the property, matched the licence plate to the rogue two-wheeler and got Mr Collins to admit he had bought the vehicle from someone who had stolen it. But when his case went to trial, Mr Collins claimed the officer’s investigation was a trespass and violated his Fourth Amendment rights; the evidence gathered during the search, he claimed, wasn’t admissible in court.

On May 29th, in Collins v Virginia, the Supreme Court sided with Mr Collins in an 8-1 vote by cabining the so-called “automobile exception” that has been in place for nearly a century. Police typically need a warrant to search someone’s property, but in 1925, the court adjusted the rules for automobiles. Cars, by their...Continue reading

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