In United States v. Sapalasan, --- F.4th ---, No. 21-30251 (9th Cir. 2024), a divided Court affirmed the district court’s denial of Sapalasan’s motion to suppress methamphetamine found during an officer’s inventory search of Sapalasan’s backpack.
For seemingly the first time in a published opinion, the majority held that the police may conduct an inventory search of belongings when the property is lawfully retained and the search is done in compliance with police regulations, even after the individual has been released. Basically, as long as the person was lawfully separated from his or her property, it does not matter that the person is not going to be imprisoned.
The dissent thoroughly explains why this is incorrect. Citing Illinois v. Lafayette, 462 U.S. 640 (1983), and Ninth Circuit case law emphasizing the significance of impending incarceration on the propriety of a jailhouse inventory search, Judge Hawkins disagreed with the majority’s conclusion regarding the inventory search of Sapalasan’s backpack at the police station after he had been released from questioning. Judge Hawkins wrote that the majority also refused to follow Ninth Circuit case law that requires consideration of whether the inventory search complied with existing state law requirements as part of the Fourth Amendment analysis.
