Byron White

“ And if circumstances can justify the warrantless arrest, it would be strange to say that the Fourth Amendment bars the warrantless search, regardless of the circumstances, since the invasion and disruption of a man's life and privacy which stem from his arrest are ordinarily far greater than the relatively minor intrusions attending a search of his premises. ”

“ The Court has always held, and does not today deny, that when there is probable cause to search and it is 'impracticable' for one reason or another to get a search warrant, then a warrantless search may be reasonable. ”

“ In light of the uniformity of judgment of the Congress, past judicial decisions, and common practice rejecting the preoposition that arrest warrants are essential wherever it is practicable to get them, the conclusion is inevitable that such arrests and accompanying searches are reasonable, at least until experience teaches the contrary. It must very often be the case that by the time probable cause to arrest a man is accm ulated, the man is aware of police interest in him or for other good reasons is on the verge of flight. ”

“ Asked whether they were 'hot' petitioner replied, 'Hotter than a $3 bill.' On reading a newspaper description of the coin store burglary, the neighbor called the police.↑ There were three officers at the scene of the arrest, one from the city where the coin burglary had occurred, and two from the city where the arrest was made. Assuming that one policeman from each city would be needed to bring the petitioner in and obtain a search warrant, one policeman could have been left to guard the house. ”

“ In terms, then, the Court must decide whether a given search is reasonable. The Amendment does not proscribe 'warrantless searches' but instead it proscribes 'unreasonable searches' and this Court has never held nor does the majority today assert that warrantless searches are necessarily unreasonable.
Applying this reasonableness test to the area of searches incident to arrests, one thing is clear at the outset. Search of an arrested man and of the items within his immediate reach must in almost every case be reasonable. ”

“ IV) .↑ Act of July 18, 1956, as amended, Tit. I, § 104 (a) , 70 Stat. 570, 26 U.S.C. § 7607 (2) .↑ Congress' expedition was possible partly because the same change had earlier been approved by a Senatorial committee. S.Rep.No.2464, 81st Cong., 2d Sess. (1950) .↑ There was no dispute between the two Coplon courts on this point, since it was well established that even a private person could make a warrantless arrest at common law for a felony which had actually been committed, and a peace officer could make such an arrest if he had reasonable cause to believe the offense had been committed. ”

“ Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 9, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 1873, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968) ; Sibron v. New York, 392 U.S. 40, 88 S.Ct. 1889, 20 L.Ed.2d 917 (1968) ; Klkins v. United States, 364 U.S. 206, 222, 80 S.Ct. 1437, 1446, 4 L.Ed.2d 1669 (1960) . ”