Under Arizona v. Gant, when may police conduct a vehicle search incident to arrest?

• A. Only with a separate warrant
• B. Any time after arrest
• C. Only if the arrestee is within reaching distance or there is reason to believe evidence is in the vehicle
• D. Only with consent

Answer: (C)

Under Arizona v. Gant, a vehicle search incident to arrest is allowed only in two situations. First, if the arrestee is unsecured and within reaching distance of the vehicle at the time of the search, police may search the passenger compartment for weapons or other immediate safety needs. Second, if there is probable cause to believe the vehicle contains evidence of the offense for which the person was arrested, police may search the vehicle for that evidence. These two narrowly drawn exceptions keep the search tied to officer safety and evidence preservation without giving blanket carte blanche to rummage through the whole car.

So the best answer is the one that says the search is permitted only if the arrestee is within reaching distance or there is reason to believe evidence is in the vehicle. This reflects the two specific exceptions recognized in Gant.

The other options don’t fit because: a separate warrant isn’t required when one of these two exceptions applies; a search after arrest isn’t allowed “any time” without meeting these conditions; and consent, while a legal basis for a search, is not the standard described in Gant for a vehicle search incident to arrest.