Virginia v. Banks

Issue: Whether the Fourth Amendment requires suppression of a pistol in a coat belonging to a suspect properly arrested for a felony, when the officers took control of the coat solely for the purpose of giving it to the suspect to protect him from the elements, and when the trial court expressly found that the officers acted in good faith, and that the search of the coat was conducted for the officers’ safety and not for the purpose of obtaining evidence of criminal activity.

Briefs and Documents

Certiorari-stage documents

• Opinion below (Va. Ct. App.)
• Petition for certiorari
• Brief in opposition (forthcoming)
• Amicus brief of Michigan et al.
• Reply of petitioner