The U.S. Supreme Court requires standardized criteria for an inventory search. What criteria are required? What is the general rationale for the criteria? Provide examples

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The standardized criteria that the U.S. Supreme Court requires for an inventory
search are that the police must follow standardized procedures (to eliminate their
uncontrolled discretion), and there must be no bad faith on the part of the police (the
inventory search must not be used as an excuse for a warrantless search). The
rationale is to eliminate the uncontrolled discretion of police in searching vehicles.
An example is when an officer stops a car for weaving across two lanes of traffic,
observes the driver to be impaired with an odor of marijuana about him. Since there
is no one else in the car, it needs to be towed to a safe place. An inventory must be
done to protect both the owner of the car and the officer as to what the contents of
the car are at the time of the tow.