In State v. Oram, No. 104,163, Misti Oram was pulled over by sheriff’s deputies conducting a routine traffic stop. Oram was eventually arrested for obstruction of justice, and her passenger was arrested on an outstanding warrant. The deputies handcuffed Oram and her passenger and placed them in the backseat of separate patrol cars. Then the deputies searched the car and found a white paper bag containing what they believed to be marijuana.

The trial court admitted the evidence of the marijuana, and the jury found Oram guilty of possession of marijuana. However, the Kansas Court of Appeals reversed the jury’s decision.

It explained that the deputies unreasonably searched of Oram’s car and that therefore the marijuana should not have been admitted at trial as a piece of evidence against Oram. Generally, to justify a warrantless search incident to arrest, like the one conducted by the deputies, police officers must limit their search to the immediate presence of the arrestee to protect themselves from attack or keep the arrestee from escaping. The Kansas Court of Appeals found that Oram was no longer within the immediate presence of her car when the deputies searched it because she was handcuffed and seated in the back of a patrol car. The Kansas Court of Appeals found further that because Oram was handcuffed and in the back of the patrol car the deputies could not have been worried about Oram escaping or threatening their safety. Therefore, the search was unreasonable.