A divided Ohio Supreme Court has rejected the warrantless search of a legally parked car even though a passenger in the car was arrested on a pending criminal charge.
The court said the arrest of the individual did not by itself establish reasonable justification to search the car without a warrant.
The court's 4-3 decision Wednesday overturned two lower court rulings and threw out the conviction and sentence of passenger Quayshaun Leak for carrying a concealed weapon and improper handling of a firearm.
At issue was the 2012 search by a Mansfield police officer of a car Leak was a passenger in shortly after Leak was arrested on a domestic violence warrant.
Justice William O'Neill said the search violated the Fourth Amendment prohibition against unreasonable searches.