Supreme Court: Car Passengers May Challenge Traffic Stops

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a passenger in a vehicle may challenge the constitutionality of a traffic stop. For purposes of the Fourth Amendment's "search and seizure" protections, the Court did not limit a "seizure" to the time of an arrest, but instead held that "[w]hen police make a traffic stop, a passenger in the car, like the driver, is seized for Fourth Amendment purposes and so may challenge the stop's constitutionality." The unanimous decision was authored by Justice David H. Souter.

• Read the Decision: Brendlin v. California
• Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Car Passengers (Washington Post)
• Your Rights: Search and Seizure (FindLaw)
• Traffic Stops and Vehicle Searches (FindLaw)