Practice question
Police have no lawful ground to arrest a person and no other search exception applies. They search the person's pockets, discover contraband, and then claim the search was incident to the arrest they made solely because of that discovery. Which is correct?
- Discovery conclusively makes the earlier search lawful
- Calling it an arrest search is sufficient
- Every search becomes valid if something incriminating is found
- The later discovery cannot supply the otherwise missing lawful arrest predicate at the outset
- The person's silence automatically validates the search
Legal references
- Rule 126, Section 13; Macabuhay v. People, G.R. No. 270337, August 13, 2025; Patotoy v. People, G.R. No. 257910, March 4, 2025, main decisions.
- Reviewed primary authority, Rule 126, Section 13: https://lawphil.net/courts/rules/rc_110-127_crim.html
- Reviewed primary authority, Main decision, paragraph on substantially contemporaneous search and preexisting probable cause: https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocs/1/70028
- Reviewed primary authority, Main decision, search purpose and scope: https://lawphil.net/judjuris/juri2025/mar2025/gr_257910_2025.html
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