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Idaho Supreme Court Announces Adoption of ‘Primary Purpose’ Standard for Reviewing Police Decision to Impound Vehicles and Conduct Inventory Search to Prevent Pretextual Searches in Violation of Fourth Amendment
by Anthony W. Accurso
The Supreme Court of Idaho overturned a district court’s denial of a defendant’s suppression motion, instructing on remand that the court determine whether the primary purpose for which the officers impounded the defendant’s vehicle was to conduct a search for contraband under the Court’s …
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More from this issue:
- Geofence Warrants: The Mass Location Surveillance and Privacy Threat Created by Google May Be Eliminated by Its Creator, by Anthony Accurso
- Minnesota Supreme Court Announces Odor of Marijuana Alone Emanating From Vehicle Insufficient for Probable Cause to Search Under Automobile Exception, by Anthony Accurso
- Michigan Supreme Court: Defendant’s Statements Involuntary and Inadmissible, by Douglas Ankney
- Tales From the ‘Tails’ of Bloodstains, by Douglas Ankney
- New Jersey Supreme Court Excludes CSLI Testimony Based on Agent’s ‘Rule Of Thumb’ Method for Determining Defendant’s Location, by Anthony Accurso
- New Night-Vision Capable Drone Marketed to Police, by Anthony Accurso
- Missouri Supreme Court Orders Dismissal of Pending Charges Where Trial Court Failed to Bring Prisoner to Trial Within 180-Day Limitations Period Provided for in ‘Interstate Agreement on Detainers’, by Douglas Ankney
- Third Circuit: Defendant Not on Rental Agreement Had Reasonable Expectation of Privacy in Car Because He Had Dominion and Control of Car Where Renter Gave Keys to Him, He Was in Possession of Them Upon Arrest, and Car Parked Nearby, by Anthony Accurso
- NYPD Has Spent Millions of Dollars on Social Media Analysis Tools, by Jo Ellen Nott
- New York Court of Appeals: Forensic Findings Establishing Possible Alternative Cause of Injuries in Sex-Crime Prosecution Admissible Under ‘Interest of Justice’ Exception to Rape Shield Law, by David Reutter
- The Diminishment of Miranda Is Leading to False Confessions and Conviction of Innocents, by David Reutter
- Fifth Circuit Announces Revocation Judgments for Violation of Supervised Release Vacated Because Underlying Sentence Vacated, by Anthony Accurso
- FBI Works to Expand Court Authority for Its Offensive Cyber Operations, by Anthony Accurso
- Third Circuit: Defense Counsel Ineffective Under Strickland Where Counsel Sat Silent After Judge Threatened to Charge Witness With Perjury Unless Testimony Changed, by Douglas Ankney
- Study Raises Alarms About Inaccuracies and Bias in Gun Forensics Reporting, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Ninth Circuit Announces District Courts Must Either Orally Pronounce All Discretionary ‘Standard’ Conditions of Supervised Release in the Presence of Defendant or Provide Conditions in Writing Prior to Sentencing, by Douglas Ankney
- The Problem with Some Non-Carceral Punishments, by Carlo Difundo
- Researchers Find Fiber Evidence Lasts Longer Underwater Than Previously Thought, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Who Let the Dogs Out? Robotic Dogs Are the Newest (and Scariest) Surveillance Tech in U.S. Police Departments, by Jo Ellen Nott
- DHS Allows CBP and ICE Officers to Create Fake Social Media Profiles to Track Subjects of Interest and Conduct Investigations, by Jo Ellen Nott
- After Ohio Becomes 24th State to Legalize Recreational Marijuana, What Next?, by Jordan Arizmendi
- Fourth Circuit: Walking Past Unoccupied Home With Bulging Pocket and Attempting to Evade Neighborhood Tipster Insufficient for Reasonable Suspicion to Seize and Search, by Anthony Accurso
- DEA’s Domestic Surveillance Mission Creep: Beyond Drugs, Beyond Protests, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Harris County, Texas, Settles Civil Rights Case for $1.5 Million Brought by Innocent Man Shot in His Home Five Times by Trigger-Happy Deputy, by Jo Ellen Nott
- New Mexico Supreme Court Announces Marquez’s Holding That ‘Crime of Shooting at or From Motor Vehicle Cannot Be Predicate Felony Supporting Charge of Felony Murder’ Is New Substantive Rule and Applies Retroactively, by Douglas Ankney
- The Potential Privacy Threat of Generative AI, by Michael Thompson
- Evidence Shows When Researchers Work Alongside Cops in the Field, De-escalation Training Is Implemented and Effective, by Douglas Ankney
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court: Testimonial References to Post-Arrest Silence Cannot Be Used Against Defendant at Trial, Pre-Arrest Harmless Error Analysis Does Not Apply, by Anthony Accurso
- Data Mining: Law Enforcement Pays Cash for Your Private Data and Saves on the Hassle of Complying With the Fourth Amendment, by Douglas Ankney
- Sixth Circuit Announces Due Process Right to ‘Prompt’ Post-Seizure Hearing While Government Deciding Whether to Initiate Forfeiture Proceedings and Holds Wayne County’s Vehicle Forfeiture Program Violates Due Process, by Matthew Clarke
- Idaho Supreme Court Announces Adoption of ‘Primary Purpose’ Standard for Reviewing Police Decision to Impound Vehicles and Conduct Inventory Search to Prevent Pretextual Searches in Violation of Fourth Amendment, by Anthony Accurso
- Steady Improvement in Techniques for the Analysis of Degraded DNA, by Douglas Ankney
- Indiana Supreme Court Announces Civil Forfeiture Triggers Right to Jury Trial, by Matthew Clarke
- Study Finds Public Defenders’ Heavy Workloads Prevent Effective Representation, Amendments to 50-Year-Old Guidelines Recommended, by Douglas Ankney
- Kentucky Supreme Court: Trial Court Abused Discretion by ‘Rehabilitating’ Juror Who Indicated Could Not Be Impartial and Failing to Strike Juror, by David Reutter
- Vendors Late to Recognize the Serious Threat of Cell-Site Simulators, by Michael Thompson
- Identification Via DNA, Fingerprints, and 3D Scanning of Footwear, by Douglas Ankney
- Car Culture Dramatically Increases Number of Cop Confrontations, by Matthew Clarke
- News in Brief
More from Anthony Accurso:
- The Systematic Terror of Rankin County’s “Goon Squad”, May 1, 2026
- Virginia Prisoners Stuck Waiting for Education Programs, Feb. 1, 2026
- $939,000 for Nevada Prisoner Left in Wheelchair by Delayed Back Pain Treatment, Jan. 1, 2026
- Ninth Circuit Affirms Exclusion of Plea Agreement’s Factual Basis, Holding Unaccepted “Type A” Plea Agreement Unenforceable to Trigger Waiver of Rule 410 Protections, Dec. 15, 2025
- America’s Deadliest Jails: Tarrant County Edition, Nov. 1, 2025
- Seventh Circuit Dismisses Jail Detainee Suicide Case for Lack of Showing Deliberate Indifference, Nov. 1, 2025
- Protecting Your Digital Privacy, Oct. 15, 2025
- Idaho Supreme Court Announces Warrantless Search of Civilly Committed Individual Violates Fourth Amendment, Oct. 15, 2025
- Michigan Supreme Court Announces Guidance on Standards for Search Warrants of Cellphones to Satisfy Particularity Requirement of Fourth Amendment That “Reasonably Direct” Search to Uncovering Evidence of Criminal Activity Identified in Warrant, Oct. 15, 2025
- Sixth Circuit: Erlinger Error Requires Resentencing Where Government Cannot Prove Beyond Reasonable Doubt That Jury Would Find Prior Offenses Committed on Different “Occasions”, Oct. 15, 2025
More from these topics:
- Seventh Circuit Announces Courts May Examine Individual Officer’s Subjective Purpose When Assessing Whether Warrantless Administrative Inspection Was Pretextual, Holding Suppression Required Where Trooper’s Sole Motive for Stop Was Criminal Investigati, Aug. 1, 2026. Warrantless Searches, Exception to Warrant Requirement, Pretextual Stops, Searches - Administrative, Suppression.
- California Court of Appeal: Vehicle Impoundment Solely to Prevent Further Unlicensed Driving Does Not Satisfy Fourth Amendment’s Community Caretaking Exception; Statutory Authorization Alone Insufficient to Establish Constitutional Reasonableness, June 1, 2026. Warrantless Searches, Motions To Suppress, Searches - Inventory, Community Caretaking Exception/Doctrine, Seizure.
- Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Announces Totality-of-the-Circumstances Framework for Evaluating Delayed Traffic Stops Under Article 14, Holding 24-Hour Gap Between Observed Infraction and Vehicle Stop Was Unreasonable, June 1, 2026. Motions To Suppress, State Constitutional Claims, Seizure, Pretextual Stops, Traffic Stops.
- Fifth Circuit Announces Long Vehicle Protective-Search Exception Requires Contemporaneous Facts Demonstrating Third Party’s Potential Dangerousness Before Warrantless Vehicle Search Is Permissible, March 1, 2026. Warrantless Searches, Exception to Warrant Requirement, Motions To Suppress, Searches - Automobile, Reasonable Suspicion.
- California AB 2773 Requires Police to State Reason for Traffic Stops Before Questioning, May 15, 2024. Traffic stop, State Constitutional Claims, Pretextual Stops, Traffic Stops.
- North Carolina Supreme Court: Outstanding Warrant for Driver Who Fled Accident Scene Does Not Authorize Inventory Search of Disabled Vehicle, March 15, 2024. Automobile Exception, Searches - Inventory, Automobile Searches/Seizures, Immediate Control, Searches - Automobile, Arrest - Search Incident to, Illegal Search.
- Minnesota Supreme Court Announces Odor of Marijuana Alone Emanating From Vehicle Insufficient for Probable Cause to Search Under Automobile Exception, Feb. 15, 2024. Probable/Proximate Cause, Searches - Automobile.
- Third Circuit: Defendant Not on Rental Agreement Had Reasonable Expectation of Privacy in Car Because He Had Dominion and Control of Car Where Renter Gave Keys to Him, He Was in Possession of Them Upon Arrest, and Car Parked Nearby, Feb. 15, 2024. Third-party Consent, Searches - Automobile, Rental; Cars, Privacy Right, Third Party Consent.
- Car Culture Dramatically Increases Number of Cop Confrontations, Feb. 15, 2024. Commentary/Reviews, Searches - Automobile.
- Fifth Circuit: Fourth Amendment Seizure Occurred When Officer Pulled Behind Parked Vehicle, Activated Emergency Lights, and Simultaneously Ordered Suspect to Remain in Vehicle, Dec. 15, 2023. Search and Seizure, Searches - Automobile, Seizure, Freedom of Movement, Traffic Stops.





