New Mexico v. Williams
Annotate this Case
The Supreme Court granted certiorari to resolve the question of whether the Fourth Amendment prohibits an under-clothing search as part of a search incident to arrest when the arresting officer has reason to suspect that the person arrested is concealing a weapon or contraband under his or her clothing. The State appealed the holding of the Court of Appeals that the roadside search of Defendant Terry Williams, incident to his arrest on an outstanding felony warrant, violated the Fourth Amendment. The Court concluded the officer had reasonable suspicion to conduct an under-clothing search and the search was reasonable under the Fourth Amendment.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.