Justices disagree on search of a passenger’s purse
PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — The legality of a search of a purse belonging to a woman who was a passenger during a Sturgis traffic stop has split the South Dakota Supreme Court.
In a 4-1 decision that was publicly released on Thursday, a majority of the state's high court sided with law enforcement that the search was legal.
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The search found a small amount of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia in a purse that was in the direct possession of Wanda Edwards. She filed a motion to suppress, but Circuit Judge John Fitzgerald denied the motion. Edwards then appealed to the South Dakota Supreme Court.
Chief Justice Steven Jensen wrote the court's majority opinion upholding Judge Fitzgerald's denial of the suppression motion. Chief Justice Jensen cited a 1999 U.S. Supreme Court decision known as Wyoming v. Houghton which found in a similar set of circumstances involving a traffic stop that a passenger's purse could be searched.
"Houghton concluded that the search of the passenger's purse was constitutional and 'that such a package may be searched, whether or not its owner is present as a passenger or otherwise, because it may contain the contraband that the officer has reason to believe is in the car,'" Chief Justice Jensen stated.
He then explained how the Houghton decision applied to the appeal from Edwards.
"The heightened interests of law enforcement to search a vehicle and its contents, based upon probable cause that contraband is in the vehicle, outweigh Edwards' diminished expectation of privacy in her personal belongings that she brought into the vehicle," the chief justice wrote.
"For these reasons, Edwards' purse was not entitled to a heightened expectation of privacy and was subject to the same search conditions as any other container found inside of the vehicle that was capable of concealing contraband," he continued.
Justice Scott Myren disagreed. He acknowledged that a search of the vehicle was warranted after illegal drugs were found in possession of the driver, but he argued that it does "not justify a body search of a passenger."
"In Houghton, the passenger's purse was found on the backseat of the vehicle. In contrast, Edwards had her purse on her lap when the car was stopped. Edwards kept the purse in her possession at all times. When asked to exit the vehicle, she took it from her lap and put it on her shoulder," Justice Myren wrote.
He continued, "When law enforcement told her they were going to search her purse, she denied consent and asserted they were not authorized to search the purse without a warrant. Law enforcement articulated no reason to believe her purse contained illegal drugs other than the fact that she was in the same car that (the driver) had occupied."
Justice Myren said his view was consistent with that of then-U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer in the Houghton decision, in which Breyer wrote, "Purses are special containers. They are repositories of especially personal items that people generally like to keep with them at all times."
Wrote Justice Myren, "Edwards clearly viewed her purse in that way, as evidenced by the fact that she always kept it in her possession. Because law enforcement was not allowed to search her person and she always maintained direct control and possession of her purse, I would hold that law enforcement was not authorized to search her purse."
