THIRD CIRCUIT APPLIES GANT IN NON-AUTOMOBILE SEARCH

In United States v. Naim Nafis Shakir, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals considered a search pursuant to a lawful arrest in a non-automobile context in the post Gant era. In Arizona v. Gant the Supreme Court clarified New York v.Belton. In Belton the Supreme Court ruled that in a vehicle search pursuant to an arrest officers could search the entire vehicle. But in Gant the Court ruled that since the purpose of a search pursuant to an arrest was to protect the officers such a search could only occur if the arrestee had access to the area to be searched. In other words once the arrestee is in a secure position there is no longer a need for a search. A search cannot be based upon the location of the arrestee prior to the arrest if the arrestee is now handcuffed and in the police vehicle for example.

In Shakir Pennsylvania authorities issued an arrest warrant for Naim Shakir for an armed robbery. The FBI found him in a Jersey City hotel. As they were arresting him, he threw down a bag. After he was arrested and handcuffed the agents seized the bag which was near Shakir’s feet and found a significant amount of cash in the bag. At trial he moved to suppress the bag. The appellate court ruled that the rule in Gant applies not only to automobile searches but to any search done pursuant to an arrest. It distinguished the case of Shakir from another case where the bag was dropped three feet away from the defendant. In that case once the defendant was handcuffed he did not have access to the bag, but with the bag being at Shakir’s feet and with handcuffs not always preventing injury to officers the court held that despite Gant the search was legal.