Arizona v. Kempton

Background

A reliable informant told police that a man had cocaine in his truck. Hours later officers stopped him while he was driving, asked for and received permission to search the truck, and found cocaine. The driver was convicted, but the Arizona Court of Appeals reversed the conviction, holding the search illegal because it did not fit the vehicle-search exception and was not a valid investigative stop. The Arizona Supreme Court declined further review, and the U.S. Supreme Court denied review of the case.

Reasoning

The central question was whether the truck search was lawful under the rules that normally allow vehicle searches or under a valid investigatory stop. The Supreme Court declined to take the case and therefore did not decide that legal question. Justice White dissented from the denial of review, saying the appeals court’s decision conflicted with this Court’s prior rulings and arguing the appeals court’s reversal should be corrected.

Real world impact

Because the high court declined review, the Arizona appeals court’s ruling that the search was unlawful remains in place for this case and the driver’s conviction stays reversed. The denial leaves unresolved, at the national level, the precise application of vehicle-search rules the dissent called into question. This is not a final nationwide ruling on vehicle searches and could be revisited if the Supreme Court later agrees to decide a similar case.

Dissents or concurrances

Justice White argued the Court should have granted review, reversed the appeals court, and warned against treating intermediate state appellate courts as unimportant in shaping federal law.