Knowles v. Iowa

Knowles v. Iowa
Argued November 3, 1998
Decided December 8, 1998
Full case namePatrick Knowles, Petitioner v. Iowa
Citations525 U.S. 113 (more)
119 S. Ct. 484; 142 L. Ed. 2d 492; 1998 U.S. LEXIS 8068; 67 U.S.L.W. 4027; 98 Daily Journal DAR 12417; 1998 Colo. J. C.A.R. 6164
Case history
PriorConviction affirmed, State v. Knowles, 569 N.W.2d 601 (Iowa 1997); cert. granted, 523 U.S. 1019 (1998).
Holding
A law enforcement officer may not search a person's vehicle without their consent when they are not in custody once they have been cited without violating the Fourth Amendment prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures.
Court membership
Chief Justice
William Rehnquist
Associate Justices
John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor
Antonin Scalia · Anthony Kennedy
David Souter · Clarence Thomas
Ruth Bader Ginsburg · Stephen Breyer
Case opinion
MajorityRehnquist, joined by unanimous
Laws applied
Iowa Code §321.485(1)(a); U.S. Const. amend. IV

Knowles v. Iowa, 525 U.S. 113 (1998), was a decision by the United States Supreme Court which ruled that the Fourth Amendment prohibits a police officer from further searching a vehicle which was stopped for a minor traffic offense once the officer has written a citation for the offense.