Constitutional Law—Plain View Observation of Bullet Warrants Protective Sweep of Vehicle Despite Potential Lawful Explanations—People v. Colyar, 996 N.E.2d 575 (Ill. 2013)

The Fourth Amendment protects the right of the people to be free from “unreasonable searches and seizures.” Despite this constitutional guarantee, the Supreme Court has carved out numerous exceptions to the warrant requirement, most notably, allowances for searches made in the interest of police officer safety. In People v. Colyar, the Illinois Supreme Court confronted the issue of whether a bullet observed in a vehicle during a lawful encounter was sufficient to justify a protective sweep of the vehicle despite the fact that possessing a bullet is not per se illegal. The court held that a protective search for weapons was justified under the circumstances. . .