Larry Welch
Director
Kansas Bureau of Investigation
________________________________________________________________
MARCUS THORNTON v. U.S.
U.S. Supreme Court
May 24, 2004
(In New York v. Belton, 453 U.S. 454, 1981, the Big Court held
that, when a state trooper made a lawful custodial arrest of an
occupant of an automobile, the Fourth Amendment permitted a
contemporaneous search of the passenger compartment of
the vehicle incident to that lawful arrest, without warrant or
consent. Here, 7-2, the Big Court even improves on that
wonderful ruling by holding the officer has the same right even
when the arrest occurs after the occupant exited the vehicle,
before the contact.)
Marcus Thornton, clearly not the brightest bulb in the closet and a previouslyconvicted felon to boot, was traveling in a Lincoln Town Car in Norfolk, Virginia. He had
2 bags in a pants pocket. One bag held 3 smaller bags of marijuana and the other held
a large amount of crack cocaine. Under the driver's seat he, of course, had the everpresent loaded 9 millimeter pistol.
It was a clear, warm July day and, as Thornton looked to his right in traffic, he
observed Officer Deion Nichols of the Norfolk Police Department traveling next to him,
in an unmarked police car, but obviously in full uniform. Thoughts of prison life filled his
mind immediately (I'm only guessing) and he nervously slowed down to avoid proximity
with Officer Nichols who was then staring at him, having noticed his furtive ways and
sudden reduction of speed. (Is this a wonderful country or what?)
O.K., Lincoln Town Car and nervous, furtive behavior. Do we have probable
cause? Only in Detective Andy Sipowicz' mythical NYPD precinct. Certainly not in
Kansas. Yet.
-1-
Larry Welch
Director
Kansas Bureau of Investigation
________________________________________________________________
Alert Officer Nichols observed Thornton's obvious, sudden reluctance to be near
him and, accordingly, he pulled behind Thornton and runs the tag. The computer check
on the tag comes back to an old Chevrolet and the officer's probable cause meter goes
off!
Before the officer could effect the traffic stop, Thornton, now wishing he had
already sold the drugs and had not bought the gun, trying to avoid the inevitable contact
with Officer Nichols, pulled into a nearby shopping center parking lot. Officer Nichols
followed him into the parking lot and pulled in behind the suspect vehicle.
They exited their respective cars at the same time and the officer advised
Thornton about the tag, requested his driver's license and asked him if he had any
drugs or weapons on him or in the car. The reply was "no".
As the officer later testified, Thornton was extremely nervous, "licking his lips"
and "sweating". And he was rambling in his speech, especially about who owned the
Lincoln and the license plate problem.
Officer Nichols asked for the nervous suspect's consent to pat him down. (Did
he need consent? No, but nice to ask.) The pat-down reveals the large bulge in the left
pocket. Again the officer asked if he had drugs. Thornton admits the pocket holds "a
bag of weed". When asked by the officer to remove the "weed" from his pocket,
Thornton hands the officer all the marijuana and crack cocaine. He's arrested,
handcuffed and placed in the patrol car's back seat. Incident to the arrest, the officer
searched the Lincoln and found the pistol.
Thornton was charged with possession of cocaine, possession of a firearm by a
convicted felon and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug-trafficking.
Before trial, the defense moved to suppress the gun, alleging the search of the
car was illegal under New York v. Belton, because, unlike Belton, Thornton was not
actually arrested in his car. The U.S. District Court denied the motion and, like the U.S.
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Larry Welch
Director
Kansas Bureau of Investigation
________________________________________________________________
Court of Appeals later, found that Thornton was close enough in time and distance to
the car to support a search of the car incident to arrest.
The defendant was found guilty in trial and sentenced to a total of 15 years in
federal prison, followed by 8 years of supervised release. Thornton never challenged
the pants pocket seizures, only the gun from the car. (Since the two gun counts
resulted in much of the sentence.)
Here, in an opinion delivered by Chief Justice Rehnquist, with only Justices
Stevens and Souter dissenting, the Big Court agreed with the federal district court and
the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The conviction and sentence
are affirmed. The car search was literally close enough for government work.
"In New York v. Belton … we held that when a police officer has made a lawful
custodial arrest of an occupant of an automobile, the Fourth Amendment allows the
officer to search the passenger compartment of that vehicle as a contemporaneous
incident of arrest … We now … conclude that Belton governs even when an officer
does not make contact until the person arrested has left the vehicle."
The Court says that Belton does not have to be limited solely to situations in
which suspects are still in their vehicles when approached by law enforcement. Noting
that Thornton conceded he was in "close proximity, both temporally and spatially" to the
Lincoln, the Court held the car was within his immediate control and Nichols' search
was, therefore, reasonable.
"…we placed no reliance on the fact that the officer in Belton ordered the
occupants out of the vehicle, or initiated contact with them while they remained within it
… In all relevant aspects, the arrest of a suspect who is next to a vehicle presents
identical concerns regarding officer safety and the destruction of evidence as the arrest
of one who is inside the vehicle."
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Larry Welch
Director
Kansas Bureau of Investigation
________________________________________________________________
(Bottom line: Wonderful ruling. I was mildly surprised.
But thrilled. And mildly surprised. However, don't
forget, either way, an officer may search a suspect's
vehicle under Belton only if the suspect is arrested.
Inside or outside nearby, but arrested.)
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