Beck v. Ohio Case Brief

Beck v. Ohio, 379 U.S. 89 (1964)

FACTS: On November 10, 1961 Beck was driving in Cleveland. Officers stopped him, identified themselves and ordered him to pull to the curb. The officers had no warrant of any kind. The arrested him and searched his car, but found nothing of interest. They took him to the station where they searched his person, and found gambling slips in his sock. He was eventually charged with the gambling offense.

Beck filed a motion to suppress, but was denied, and he was eventually convicted. His conviction was affirmed by the state courts, finding it valid as a search incident to arrest.

ISSUE: Can a valid arrest be based upon a search made after the arrest?

HOLDING: No

DISCUSSION: The validity of a search incident to arrest depends upon the validity of the underlying arrest. The validity of an arrest depends upon whether, at the moment of the arrest, the officer had probable cause (or a warrant) to believe that the individual could be arrested. In this case, the Court determined that the arrest itself was not valid, in fact, the arrest was based upon evidence found during the search, so the search itself was invalid.