Opinion · Supreme Court of the United States

Florida v. White

Fla. v. White, 526 U.S. 559 (1999)

Type
Opinion
Court
Supreme Court of the United States
Jurisdiction
Federal
Date
1999-05-17
Topic
litigation

How later courts describe this case

  • holding that the Fourth Amendment's warrant requirement does not prohibit police from seizing an automobile from a public place upon probable cause that the vehicle is forfeitable contraband
  • holding that warrantless search and seizure of vehicle located on public property did not violate Fourth Amendment when based on probable cause
  • holding that the seizure of a van by Drug Enforcement Agency agents pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 881 (a) - (b
  • holding that a search of a vehicle is warranted where probable cause exists that a violation of a civil forfeiture law such as 21 U.S.C. § 881 has occurred
  • holding that Fourth Amendment did not require police to obtain a warrant before seizing automobile from public place when they had probable cause to believe that it was forfeitable contraband
  • holding, among other things, that seizure of the defendant’s vehicle from his employer’s parking lot without a warrant did not involve any invasion of defendant’s privacy
  • holding the warrantless seizure of a vehicle reasonable under the Fourth Amendment when police officers “had probable cause to believe that the vehicle itself was contraband under Florida law”
  • noting that officers had observed the defendant using the vehicle to deliver cocaine on three separate occasions prior to its seizure by police

Citator

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Authority status
pending
Cited by
190 opinions

Headnotes

  1. Criminal Law & Procedure — Fourth Amendment The Fourth Amendment does not require the police to obtain a warrant before seizing an automobile from a public place when they have probable cause to believe that the vehicle is forfeitable contraband. 526 U.S. 559, 561
  2. Constitutional Law — Fourth Amendment In determining whether a challenged governmental action violates the Fourth Amendment, a court must inquire whether the action was regarded as an unlawful search and seizure when the Amendment was framed, construing the Amendment in light of what was deemed unreasonable at the time of its adoption and in a manner that conserves public interests as well as individual rights. 526 U.S. at 563-564 (quoting Carroll v. United States, 267 U.S. 132, 149 (1925))
  3. Criminal Law & Procedure — Warrantless Searches of Automobiles When officers have probable cause to believe that an automobile contains contraband, the Fourth Amendment does not require them to obtain a warrant before searching the car for and seizing the contraband. 526 U.S. at 564 (citing Carroll v. United States, 267 U.S. 132, 150-151)
  4. Criminal Law & Procedure — Seizure of Contraband Vehicles The need to seize readily movable contraband before it is spirited away supports the warrantless seizure of an automobile that is itself contraband, and that need is equally weighty when the automobile, rather than its contents, is the contraband the police seek to secure. 526 U.S. at 565
  5. Criminal Law & Procedure — Fourth Amendment Fourth Amendment jurisprudence accords law enforcement officials greater latitude in exercising their duties in public places, and a warrantless seizure of property from a public area does not involve an invasion of privacy. 526 U.S. at 565-566 (citing G. M. Leasing Corp. v. United States, 429 U.S. 338, 351 (1977))
  6. Criminal Law & Procedure — Probable Cause The Court expresses no opinion whether excessive delay prior to a seizure could render probable cause stale and the seizure therefore unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment. 526 U.S. at 565 n.4
FLORIDA v. WHITE,526 U.S. 559(1999)
FLORIDA, PETITIONERv. TYVESSEL TYVORUS WHITE
CERTIORARI TO THE SUPREME COURT OF FLORIDA
No. 98-223.
Argued March 23, 1999
Decided May 17, 1999
Two months after officers observed respondent using his car to deliver cocaine, he was arrested at his workplace on unrelated charges. At that time, the arresting officers seized his car without securing a warrant because they believed that it was subject to forfeiture under the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act (Act). During a subsequent inventory search, the police discovered cocaine in the car. Respondent was then charged with a state drug violation. At his trial on the drug charge, he moved to suppress the evidence discovered during the search, arguing that the car's warrantless seizure violated theFourth Amendment, thereby making the cocaine the "fruit of the poisonous tree." After the jury returned a guilty verdict, the court denied the motion, and the Florida First District Court of Appeal affirmed. It also certified to the Florida Supreme Court the question whether, absent exigent circumstances, a warrantless seizure of an automobile under the Act violated theFourth Amendment. The latter court answered the question in the affirmative, quashed the lower court opinion, and remanded.Held:TheFourth Amendmentdoes not require the police to obtain a warrant before seizing an automobile from a public place when they have probable cause to believe that it is forfeitable contraband. In deciding whether a challenged governmental action violates the Amendment, this Court inquires whether the action was regarded as an unlawful search and seizure when the Amendment was framed. See,e.g.,Carrollv.United States,267 U.S. 132,149. This Court has held that when federal officers have probable cause to believe that an automobile contains contraband, theFourth Amendmentdoes not require them to obtain a warrant prior to searching the car for and seizing the contraband.Id., at 150-151. Although the police here lacked probable cause to believe that respondent's car contained contraband, they had probable cause to believe that the vehicleitselfwas contraband under Florida law. A recognition of the need to seize readily movable contraband before it is spirited away undoubtedly underlies the early federal laws relied upon inCarroll. This need is equally weighty when theautomobile, as opposed to its contents, is the contraband that the police seek to secure. In addition, this Court'sFourth Amendmentjurisprudence has consistently accorded officers greater latitude in exercising their duties in public places. Here, because the police seized respondent'sPage 560vehicle from a public area, the warrantless seizure is virtually indistinguishable from the seizure upheld inG. M. Leasing Corp. v.United States,429 U.S. 338,351. Pp. 563-566.710 So.2d 949, reversed and remanded.

THOMAS, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which REHNQUIST, C.J., and O'CONNOR, SCALIA, KENNEDY, SOUTER, and BREYER, JJ., joined. SOUTER, J., filed a concurring opinion, in which BREYER, J., joined,post, p. 566. STEVENS, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which GINSBURG, J., joined,post, p. 567.
Carolyn Snurkowski, Assistant Deputy Attorney General of Florida, argued the cause of petitioner. With her on the briefs wereRobert A.Butterworth, Attorney General, andDaniel A. David, Assistant Attorney General.Malcolm L. Stewartargued the cause for the United States asamicuscuriaeurging reversal. With him on the brief wereSolicitor GeneralWaxman, Assistant Attorney General Robinson, Deputy Solicitor GeneralDreeben, andKathleen A. Felton.David P. Gauldinargued the cause for respondent. With him on the brief wereDavid A. DavisandMichael J. Minerva.fn*Page 561
JUSTICE THOMAS delivered the opinion of the Court.
The Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act provides that certain forms of contraband, including motor vehicles used in violation of the Act's provisions, may be seized and potentially forfeited. In this case, we must decide whether theFourth Amendmentrequires the police to obtain a warrant before seizing an automobile from a public place when they have probable cause to believe that it is forfeitable contraband. We hold that it does not.
I
On three occasions in July and August 1993, police officers observed respondent Tyvessel Tyvorus White using his car to deliver cocaine, and thereby developed probable cause to believe that his car was subject to forfeiture under the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act(Act), Fla. Stat. §932.701et seq. (1997).1Several months later, the police arrested respondent at his place of employment on charges unrelated to the drug transactions observed in July and August 1993. At the same time, the arresting officers, without securing a warrant, seized respondent's automobile in accordance with the provisions of the Act. See §932.703(2)(a).2They seized thePage 562vehicle solely because they believed that it was forfeitable under the Act. During a subsequent inventory search, the police found two pieces of crack cocaine in the ashtray. Based on the discovery of the cocaine, respondent was charged with possession of a controlled substance in violation of Florida law.

At his trial on the possession charge, respondent filed a motion to suppress the evidence discovered during the inventory search. He argued that the warrantless seizure of his car violated theFourth Amendment, thereby making the cocaine the "fruit of the poisonous tree." The trial court initially reserved ruling on respondent's motion, but later denied it after the jury returned a guilty verdict. On appeal, the Florida First District Court of Appeal affirmed.680 So.2d 550(1996). Adopting the position of a majority of state and federal courts to have considered the question, the court rejected respondent's argument that theFourth Amendmentrequired the police to secure a warrant prior to seizing his vehicle.Id., at 554. Because the Florida Supreme Court and this Court had not directly addressed the issue, the court certified to the Florida Supreme Court the question whether, absent exigent circumstances, the warrantless seizure of an automobile under the Act violated theFourth Amendment.Id., at 555.

In a divided opinion, the Florida Supreme Court answered the certified question in the affirmative, quashed the First District Court of Appeal's opinion, and remanded.710 So.2d 949,955(1998). The majority of the court concluded that, absent exigent circumstances, theFourth Amendmentrequires the police to obtain a warrant prior to seizing propertyPage 563that has been used in violation of the Act.Ibid. According to the court, the fact that the police develop probable cause to believe that such a violation occurred does not, standing alone, justify a warrantless seizure. The court expressly rejected the holding of the Eleventh Circuit, seeUnited Statesv.Valdes,876 F.2d 1554(1989), and the majority of other Federal Circuits to have addressed the same issue in the context of the federal civil forfeiture law,21 U.S.C. § 881, which is similar to Florida's. SeeUnited Statesv.Decker,19 F.3d 287(CA6 1994)(per curiam); United Statesv.Pace,898 F.2d 1218,1241(CA7 1990);United Statesv.One 1978 Mercedes Benz,711 F.2d 1297(CA5 1983);United Statesv.Kemp,690 F.2d 397(CA4 1982);United Statesv.Bush,647 F.2d 357(CA3 1981). But seeUnited Statesv.Dixon,1 F.3d 1080(CA10 1993);United Statesv.Lasanta,978 F.2d 1300(CA2 1992);UnitedStatesv.Linn,880 F.2d 209(CA9 1989). We granted certiorari,525 U.S. 1000(1998), and now reverse.
II
TheFourth Amendmentguarantees "[t]he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures," and further provides that "no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause."U.S. Const., Amdt. 4. In deciding whether a challenged governmental action violates the Amendment, we have taken care to inquire whether the action was regarded as an unlawful search and seizure when the Amendment was framed. SeeWyomingv.Houghton,ante, at 299;Carrollv.United States,267 U.S. 132,149(1925) ("TheFourth Amendmentis to be construed in light of what was deemed an unreasonable search and seizure when it was adopted, and in a manner which will conserve public interests as well as the interests and rights of individual citizens").

InCarroll, we held that when federal officers have probable cause to believe that an automobile contains contraband,Page 564theFourth Amendmentdoes not require them to obtain a warrant prior to searching the car for and seizing the contraband. Our holding was rooted in federal law enforcement practice at the time of the adoption of theFourth Amendment. Specifically, we looked to laws of the First, Second, and Fourth Congresses that authorized federal officers to conduct warrantless searches of ships and to seize concealed goods subject to duties.Id., at 150-151 (citing Act of July 31, 1789, §§ 24, 29,1 Stat. 43; Act of Aug. 4, 1790, § 50,1 Stat. 170; Act of Feb. 18, 1793, § 27,1 Stat. 315; Act of Mar. 2, 1799, §§ 68-70,1 Stat. 677,678). These enactments led us to conclude that "contemporaneously with the adoption of theFourth Amendment," Congress distinguished "the necessity for a search warrant between goods subject to forfeiture, when concealed in a dwelling house or similar place, and like goods in course of transportation and concealed in a movable vessel where they readily could be put out of reach of a search warrant."267 U.S., at 151.

The Florida Supreme Court recognized that underCarroll, the police could search respondent's car, without obtaining a warrant, if they had probable cause to believe that it contained contraband. The court, however,itselfalso was appropriate underCarrolland its progeny. It reasoned that "[t]here is a vast difference between permitting the immediate search of a movable automobile based on actual knowledge that it then contains contraband [and] the discretionary seizure of a citizen's automobile based upon a belief that it may have been used at some time in the past to assist in illegal activity."710 So.2d, at 953. We disagree.

The principles underlying the rule inCarrolland the founding-era statutes upon which they are based fully support the conclusion that the warrantless seizure of respondent's car did not violate theFourth Amendment. Although, as the Florida Supreme Court observed, the police lackedPage 565probable cause to believe that respondent's car contained contraband, see710 So.2d, at 953, they certainly had probable cause to believe that the vehicleitselfwas contraband under Florida law.3Recognition of the need to seize readily movable contraband before it is spirited away undoubtedly underlies the early federal laws relied upon inCarroll. See267 U.S., at 150-152; see alsoCaliforniav.Carney,471 U.S. 386,390(1985);South Dakotav.Opperman,428 U.S. 364,367(1976). This need is equally weighty when theautomobile, as opposed to its contents, is the contraband that the police seek to secure.4Furthermore, the early federal statutes that we looked to inCarroll, like the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act, authorized the warrantless seizure ofbothgoods subject to dutiesandthe ships upon which those goods were concealed. See,e.g.,1 Stat. 43,46;1 Stat. 170,174;1 Stat. 677,678,692.

In addition to the special considerations recognized in the context of movable items, ourFourth Amendmentjurisprudence has consistently accorded law enforcement officials greater latitude in exercising their duties in public places. For example, although a warrant presumptively is required for a felony arrest in a suspect's home, theFourth Amendmentpermits warrantless arrests in public places where an officer has probable cause to believe that a felony has occurred. SeeUnited Statesv.Watson,423 U.S. 411,416-424(1976). In explaining this rule, we have drawn upon the establishedPage 566"distinction between a warrantless seizure in an open area and such a seizure on private premises."Paytonv.New York,445 U.S. 573,587(1980); see alsoid., at 586-587 ("It is also well settled that objects such as weapons or contraband found in a public place may be seized by the police without a warrant"). The principle that underliesWatsonextends to the seizure at issue in this case. Indeed, the facts of this case are nearly indistinguishable from those inG. M. Leasing Corp. v.United States,429 U.S. 338(1977). There, we considered whether federal agents violated theFourth Amendmentby failing to secure a warrant prior to seizing automobiles in partial satisfaction of income tax assessments.Id., at 351. We concluded that they did not, reasoning that "[t]he seizures of the automobiles in this case took place on public streets, parking lots, or other open places, and did not involve any invasion of privacy."Ibid. Here, because the police seized respondent's vehicle from a public area — respondent's employer's parking lot — the warrantless seizure also did not involve any invasion of respondent's privacy. Based on the relevant history and our prior precedent, we therefore conclude that theFourth Amendmentdid not require a warrant to seize respondent's automobile in these circumstances.

The judgment of the Florida Supreme Court is reversed, and the case is remanded for proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion.It is so ordered.
JUSTICE SOUTER, with whom JUSTICE BREYER joins, concurring.
I join the Court's opinion subject to a qualification against reading our holding as a general endorsement of warrantless seizures of anything a State chooses to call "contraband," whether or not the property happens to be in public when seized. TheFourth Amendmentdoes not concede any talismanicPage 567significance to use of the term "contraband" whenever a legislature may resort to a novel forfeiture sanction in the interest of law enforcement, as legislatures are evincing increasing ingenuity in doing, cf.,e.g.,Bennisv.Michigan,516 U.S. 442,443-446(1996);id., at 458 (STEVENS, J., dissenting);United Statesv.James Daniel Good RealProperty,510 U.S. 43,81-82, and n. 1 (1993) (THOMAS, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part) (expressing concern about the breadth of new forfeiture statutes). Moreover,G. M. Leasing Corp. v.United States,429 U.S. 338(1977) (upon which we rely today), endorsed the public character of a warrantless seizure scheme by reference to traditional enforcement of government revenue laws,id., at 351-352, and n. 18 (citing,e.g.,Murray's Lesseev.Hoboken Land Improvement Co., 18 How. 272 (1856)), and the legality of seizing abandoned contraband in public view,429 U.S., at 352(citingHesterv.United States,265 U.S. 57(1924)).
JUSTICE STEVENS, with whom JUSTICE GINSBURG joins, dissenting.
During the summer of 1993, Florida police obtained evidence that Tyvessel White was engaged in the sale and delivery of narcotics, and that he was using his car to facilitate the enterprise. For reasons unexplained, the police neither arrested White at that point nor seized his automobile as an instrumentality of his alleged narcotics offenses. Most important to the resolution of this case, the police did not seek to obtain a warrant before seizing White's car that fall — over two months after the last event that justified the seizure. Instead, after arresting White at work on an unrelated matter and obtaining his car keys, the officers seized White's automobile without a warrant from his employer's parking lot and performed an inventory search. The Florida Supreme Court concluded that the seizure, which took place absent exigent circumstances or probable cause to believePage 568that narcotics were present, was invalid.710 So.2d 949(1998).1

In 1971, after advising us that "we must not lose sight of theFourth Amendment'sfundamental guarantee," Justice Stewart made this comment on what was then settled law:
"[T]he most basic constitutional rule in this area is that `searches conducted outside the judicial process, without prior approval by judge or magistrate, areper seunreasonable under theFourth Amendment— subject only to a few specifically established and well-delineated exceptions.' The exceptions are `jealously and carefully drawn,' and there must be `a showing by those who seek exemption . . . that the exigencies of the situation made that course imperative.' `[T]he burden is on those seeking the exemption to show the need for it.'"Coolidgev.New Hampshire,403 U.S. 443,453,454-455(footnotes omitted).


Because theFourth Amendmentplainly "protects property as well as privacy" and seizures as well as searches,Soldalv.Cook County,506 U.S. 56,62-64(1992), I would apply to the present case our longstanding warrant presumption.2Page 569In the context of property seizures by law enforcement authorities, the presumption might be overcome more easily in the absence of an accompanying privacy or liberty interest. Nevertheless, I would look to the warrant clause as a measure of reasonableness in such cases,UnitedStatesv.United States Dist. Court for Eastern Dist. of Mich.,407 U.S. 297,315(1972), and the circumstances of this case do not convince me that the role of a neutral magistrate was dispensable.

The Court does not expressly disavow the warrant presumption urged by White and followed by the Florida Supreme Court, but its decision suggests that the exceptions have all but swallowed the general rule. To defend the officers' warrantless seizure, the State points to cases establishing an "automobile exception" to our ordinary demand for a warrant before a lawful search may be conducted. Each of those cases, however, involved searches of automobiles for contraband or temporary seizures of automobiles to effect such searches.3Such intrusions comport with the practicePage 570of federal customs officers during the Nation's early history on which the majority relies, as well as the practicalities of modern life. But those traditions and realities are weak support for a warrantless seizure of the vehicle itself, months after the property was proverbially tainted by its physical proximity to the drug trade, and while the owner is safely in police custody.

The stated purposes for allowing warrantless vehicle searches are likewise insufficient to validate the seizure at issue, whether one emphasizes the ready mobility of automobiles or the pervasive regulation that diminishes the owner's privacy interests in such property. No one seriously suggests that the State's regulatory regime for road safety makes acceptable such unchecked and potentially permanent seizures of automobiles under the State's criminal laws. And, as the Florida Supreme Court cogently explained, an exigent circumstance rationale is not available when the seizure is based upon a belief that the automobile may have been used at some time in the past to assist in illegal activity and the owner is already in custody.4Moreover, the state court's conclusion that the warrant process is a sensible protection from abuse of government power is bolstered by the inherent risks of hindsight at postseizure hearings and law enforcement agencies' pecuniary interest in the seizure of such property. See Fla. Stat. §932.704(1) (1997); cf.United Statesv.James Daniel Good Real Property,510 U.S. 43,55-56(1993).Page 571

Were we confronted with property that Florida deemed unlawful for private citizens to possess regardless of purpose, and had the State relied on the plain-view doctrine, perhaps a warrantless seizure would have been defensible. SeeHortonv.California,496 U.S. 128(1990);Arizonav.Hicks,480 U.S. 321,327(1987) (citingPaytonv.New York,445 U.S. 573(1980)). But "`[t]here is nothing even remotely criminal in possessing an automobile,'"Austinv.United States,509 U.S. 602,621(1993) (quotingOne 1958 Plymouth Sedanv.Pennsylvania,380 U.S. 693,699(1965)); no serious fear for officer safety or loss of evidence can be asserted in this case considering the delay and circumstances of the seizure; and only the automobile exception is at issue,710 So.2d, at 952; Brief for Petitioner 6, 28.5

In any event, it seems to me that the State's treatment of certain vehicles as "contraband" based on past use provides an added reason for insisting on an appraisal of the evidence by a neutral magistrate, rather than a justification for expanding the discretionary authority of the police. Unlike a search that is contemporaneous with an officer's probable-cause determination,Horton,496 U.S., at 130-131, a belated seizure may involve a serious intrusion on the rights of innocent persons with no connection to the earlier offense. Cf.Bennisv.Michigan,516 U.S. 442(1996). And a seizure supported only by the officer's conclusion that at some time in the past there was probable cause to believe that the car was then being used illegally is especially intrusive when followed by a routine and predictable inventory search —Page 572even though there may be no basis for believing the car then contains any contraband or other evidence of wrongdoing.6

Of course, requiring police officers to obtain warrants in cases such as the one before us will not allay every concern private property owners might have regarding government discretion and potentially permanent seizures of private property under the authority of a State's criminal laws. Had the officers in this case obtained a warrant in July or August, perhaps they nevertheless could or would have executed that warrant months later; and, as the Court suggests,ante, at 565, n. 4, delay between the basis for a seizure and its effectuation might support aFourth Amendmentobjection whether or not a warrant was obtained. That said, a warrant application interjects the judgment of a neutral decisionmaker, one with no pecuniary interest in the matter, seeConnallyv.Georgia,429 U.S. 245,250-251(1977)(per curiam), before the burden of obtaining possession of the property shifts to the individual. Knowing that a neutral partyPage 573will be involved before private property is seized can only help ensure that law enforcement officers will initiate forfeiture proceedings only when they are truly justified. A warrant requirement might not prevent delay and the attendant opportunity for official mischief through discretionary timing, but it surely makes delay more tolerable.

Without a legitimate exception, the presumption should prevail. Indeed, the particularly troubling aspect of this case is not that the State provides a weak excuse for failing to obtain a warrant either before or after White's arrest, but that it offers us no reason at all. The justification cannot be that the authorities feared their narcotics investigation would be exposed and hindered if a warrant had been obtained.Ex partewarrant applications provide neutral review of police determinations of probable cause, but such procedures are by no means public. And the officers had months to take advantage of them. On this record, one must assume that the officers who seized White's car simply preferred to avoid the hassle of seeking approval from a judicial officer. I would not permit bare convenience to overcome our established preference for the warrant process as a check against arbitrary intrusions by law enforcement agencies "engaged in the often competitive" — and, here, potentially lucrative — "enterprise of ferreting out crime."Johnsonv.United States,333 U.S. 10,14-15(1948).

Because I agree with the Florida Supreme Court's judgment that this seizure was not reasonable without a warrant, I respectfully dissent.Page 574
  1. A brief ofamici curiaeurging reversal was filed for the State of Arkansas et al. byWinston Bryant, Attorney General of Arkansas,DavidR. Raupp, Senior Assistant Attorney General,Dan Schweitzer, and by the Attorneys General for their respective States as follows:Bill Lockyerof California,M. Jane Bradyof Delaware,Thurbert E. Bakerof Georgia,Margery S. Bronsterof Hawaii,Alan G. Lanceof Idaho,James E. Ryanof Illinois,Jeffrey A. Modisettof Indiana,Thomas J. Millerof Iowa,CarlaJ. Stovallof Kansas,J. Joseph Curran, Jr., of Maryland,Jennifer M.Granholmof Michigan,Joseph P,. Mazurekof Montana,Don Stenbergof Nebraska,Frankie Sue Del Papaof Nevada,Peter Vernieroof New Jersey,Heidi Heitkampof North Dakota,Betty D. Montgomeryof Ohio,W. A. DrewEdmondsonof Oklahoma,Mike Fisherof Pennsylvania,Charles M. Condonof South Carolina,Mark Barnettof South Dakota,Paul G. Summersof Tennessee,Jan Grahamof Utah,Mark L. Earleyof Virginia,Christine O.Gregoireof Washington, andGay Woodhouseof Wyoming.Richard J. TrobermanandLisa B. Kemlerfiled a brief for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers asamicus curiaeurging affirmance. ↩
  2. That Act provides, in relevant part: "Any contraband article, vessel, motor vehicle, aircraft, other personal property, or real property used in violation of any provision of the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act, or in, upon, or by means of which any violation of the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act has taken or is taking place, may be seized and shall be forfeited." Fla. Stat. §932.703(1)(a) (1997). ↩
  3. Nothing in the Act requires the police to obtain a warrant prior to seizing a vehicle. SeeStatev.Pomerance,434 So.2d 329,330(Fla.App. 1983). Rather, the Act simply provides that "[p]ersonal property may be seized at the time of the violation or subsequent to the violation, if the person entitled to notice is notified at the time of the seizure . . . that there is a right to an adversarial preliminary hearing after the seizure to determine whether probable cause exists to believe that such property has been or is being used in violation of the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act." §932.703(2)(a). ↩
  4. The Act defines "contraband" to include any "vehicle of any kind, . . . which was used . . . as an instrumentality in the commission of, or in aiding or abetting in the commission of, any felony." §932.701(2)(a)(5). ↩
  5. At oral argument, respondent contended that the delay between the time that the police developed probable cause to seize the vehicle and when the seizure actually occurred undercuts the argument that the warrantless seizure was necessary to prevent respondent from removing the car out of the jurisdiction. We express no opinion about whether excessive delay prior to a seizure could render probable cause stale, and the seizure therefore unreasonable under theFourth Amendment. ↩
  6. The Florida Supreme Court's opinion could be read to suggest that due process protections in the Florida Constitution might independently require a warrant or other judicial process before seizure under the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act. See710 So.2d, at 952(discussingDepartment of Law Enforcementv.Real Property,588 So.2d 957(1991)). However, the certified question put to that court referred only to theFourth Amendment to the United States Constitution.710 So.2d, at 950. Thus, a viable federal question was presented for us to decide on certiorari, but of course we have no authority to determine the limits of state constitutional or statutory safeguards. ↩
  7. E.g.,United Statesv.United States Dist. Court for Eastern Dist.of Mich.,407 U.S. 297,315-318(1972) ("Though theFourth Amendmentspeaks broadly of `unreasonable searches and seizures,' the definition of `reasonableness' turns, at least in part, on the more specific commands of the warrant clause");Coolidgev.New Hampshire,403 U.S. 443,454-455(1971);Katzv.United States,389 U.S. 347,357(1967);Johnsonv.United States,333 U.S. 10,13-14(1948);Harrisv.United States,331 U.S. 145,162(1947) (Frankfurter, J., dissenting) ("[W]ith minor and severely confined exceptions, inferentially a part of the Amendment, every search and seizure is unreasonable when made without a magistrate's authority expressed through a validly issued warrant"), overruled in part byChimelv.California,395 U.S. 752(1969); see alsoShadwickv.Tampa,407 U.S. 345,348(1972) (noting "the now accepted fact that someone independent of the police and prosecution must determine probable cause");Wong Sunv.United States,371 U.S. 471,481-482(1963). ↩
  8. See,e.g.,Carrollv.United States,267 U.S. 132,153(1925) (where the police have probable cause, "contraband goods concealed and illegally transported in an automobile or other vehicle may be searched for without a warrant");United Statesv.Ross,456 U.S. 798,820, n. 26, 825 (1982) ("During virtually the entire history of our country — whether contraband was transported in a horse-drawn carriage, a 1921 roadster, or a modern automobile — it has been assumed that a lawful search of a vehicle would include a search of any container that might conceal the object of the search");Wyomingv.Houghton,ante, at 300-301;Pennsylvaniav.Labron,518 U.S. 938,940(1996)(per curiam)("If a car is readily mobile and probable cause exists to believe it contains contraband, theFourth Amendmentthus permits police to search the vehicle without more"). ↩
  9. 710 So.2d 949,953-954(Fla. 1998) ("There simply was no concern presented here that an opportunity to seize evidence would be missed because of the mobility of the vehicle. Indeed, the entire focus of the seizure here was to seize the vehicle itself as a prize because of its alleged prior use in illegal activities, rather than to search the vehicle for contraband known to be therein, and that might be lost if not seized immediately"). The majority notes,ante, at 565, n. 4, but does not confront, the argument that the mobility of White's vehicle was not a substantial governmental concern in light of the delay between establishing probable cause and seizure. ↩
  10. There is some force to the majority's reliance onUnited Statesv.Watson,423 U.S. 411(1976), which held that no warrant is required for felony arrests made in public.Ante, at 565-566. With respect to the seizures at issue inWatson, however, I consider the law enforcement and public safety interests far more substantial, and the historical and legal traditions more specific and engrained, than those present on the facts of this case. See423 U.S., at 415-424;id., at 429 (Powell, J., concurring) ("[L]ogic sometimes must defer to history and experience"). ↩
  11. The Court's reliance onG. M. Leasing Corp. v.United States,429 U.S. 338(1977), is misplaced. The seizure in that case was supported by an earlier tax assessment that was "given the force of a judgment."Id., at 352, n. 18 (internal quotation marks omitted). We emphasized that the owner of the automobiles in question lacked a privacy interest, but he had also lost any possessory interest in the property by way of the prior judgment. In this case, despite plenty of time to obtain a warrant that would provide similar preseizure authority for the police, they acted entirely on their own assessment of the probative force of evidence relating to earlier events. In addition, White's property interests in his car were apparently not extinguished until, at the earliest, the seizure took place. See Fla. Stat. §§932.703(1)(c)-(d) (1997) (the State acquires rights, interest, and title in contraband articles at the time of seizure, and the seizing agency may not use the seized property until such rights, interest, and title are "perfected" in accordance with the statute); §932.704(8);Soldalv.Cook County,506 U.S. 56,63-64(1992). This statutory scheme and its aims, see Fla. Stat. §932.704(1) (1997), also distinguish more mundane and temporary vehicle seizures performed for regulatory purposes and immediate public needs, such as a tow from a no-parking zone. No one contends that a warrant is necessary in that case. ↩