Author's Note: This post has been modified from its original version in response to a helpful comment by a reader. An officer sees a man drink from a can of beer while the man drives through a public parking deck. The officer stops the man’s car and sees the beer bottle can in plain view. He then asks the man to step out of the vehicle. May the officer open the car's console to search for additional evidence? Yes, said the court of appeals today in State v Fizovic, ___ N.C. App. ___ , ___ S.E.2d ___ (2015). The console search in Fizovic turned up a loaded revolver, which the defendant--a convicted felon--was not allowed to possess. The court of appeals held that the search was justified as incident to the defendant’s arrest, which occurred shortly after the search. The court further determined that that the search was permissible under Arizona v. Gant, 556 U.S. 332 (2009), as it was reasonable to believe that evidence relevant to the open container offense would be found in the car’s console. Facts. There are a few more facts you should know. Billy Wyatt, the “officer” who stopped Fizovic was working for a private security company rather than a law enforcement agency. Wyatt was patrolling a Greensboro parking deck when he saw Fizovic drive up a ramp within the deck while drinking a beer. Wyatt stopped Fizovic and asked to see his driver’s license. Fizovic showed him a resident alien card. When Wyatt asked again for Fizovic’s driver’s license, [...]
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