New York vs Belton - Essay Example

The court case known as New York v. Belton held particular significance within U.S. law. According to the article entitled “New York v. Belton,” this case involved a police officer who was charged with violating the Fourth Amendment when he searched a car without a warrant(“New York v. Belton”).  The Fourth Amendment is the aspect of the United States Constitution that was created to protect a citizen’s privacy. Belton believed that his Fourth Amendment rights had been violated by this police officer who found cocaine and marijuana in the jacket that was inside the car when the driver was stopped for speeding(“New York v. Belton”). The issue was that the police officer had arrested the men before searching and finding the drugs without a warrant to do so(“New York v. Belton”)

In this case, the courts ruled that “whenever the police arrest people in a car, they may search the passenger compartment without a warrant”(“New York v. Belton”). Additionally, it was made clear that police officers may search through a car and items in the car after an arrest.  However, the courts made it clear that police officers needed to have “good reason” for searching the car without a warrant. This decision was written by Justice Potter Stewart on July 1, 1981(“New York v. Belton”). After the decision was made, trouble arose when three of the judges on the case decided that they did not agree with the ruling and dissented because they felt that the decision went too far in not protecting the right to privacy(“New York v. Belton”).