Gustafson v. Florida, 414 U.S. 260 (1973)

CERTIORARI TO THE SUPREME COURT OF FLORIDA

Syllabus

During the course of a pat-down search of the person of petitioner, who had been arrested for not having his driver’s license in his possession, the arresting officer seized marihuana cigarettes, for the unlawful possession of which petitioner was subsequently tried and convicted. The State Supreme Court upheld the conviction, concluding that the search leading to the discovery of the marihuana, which was used as evidence in petitioner’s trial, was not unreasonable.

Held: The full search of the person of the suspect made incident to a lawful custodial arrest did not violate the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments, United States v. Robinson, ante, p. 218, and it is of no constitutional significance that, contrary to the situation in Robinson, police regulations did not require that petitioner be taken into custody or establish the conditions under which a full-scale body search should be conducted, nor, as in Robinson, is it relevant that the arresting officer had no subjective fear of petitioner or suspicion that he was armed, since it is the fact of custodial arrest that gives rise to the authority to search. Pp. 263-266.

258 So.2d 1, affirmed.

REHNQUIST, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which BURGER, C.J., and STEWART, WHITE, BLACKMUN, and POWELL, JJ., joined. STEWART, J., post, p. 266, and POWELL, J., ante, p. 237, filed concurring opinions. MARSHALL, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which DOUGLAS and BRENNAN, JJ., joined, post, p. 267.