State of New Jersey v. Rahmil O'Neal (A-94/95-2005)

Argued October 31, 2006 -- Decided May 22, 2007

There are many important legal issues discussed by the New Jersey Supreme
Court in this morning's decision in State v. O'Neal. Two in particular
stand out. First, the justices explain that probable cause to arrest is
the triggering event for a search incident to an arrest. Accordingly, once
the police have developed probable cause to effect an arrest, they may
lawfully search the person for weapons and evidence before formally
placing the suspect under arrest.

The second issues relates to the public safety exception to the Miranda
warnings. As previously developed by the United States Supreme Court,
police may ask questions of an arrested person relating to the immediate
recovery of dangerous weapons at an arrest scene. The New Jersey Supreme
Court, for the first time, issued guidelines in the O'Neal case relating
to the types of questions the police may ask in these limited public
safety situations when there is an objectively reasonable need to protect
the police and public from the immediate danger posed by a weapon.

Click here for the complete ruling in State of New Jersey v. Rahmil O'Neal (A-94/95-2005) in PDF format.