South Dakota v. Opperman
Case Date: 11/04/1976
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South Dakota v. Opperman, 428 U.S. 364 (1976), elaborated on the community caretaking doctrine. Under the Fourth Amendment, "unreasonable" searches and seizures are forbidden. In addition to their law enforcement duties, the police must engage in what the Court has termed a community caretaking role, including such duties as removing obstructions from roadways in order to ensure the free flow of traffic. When the police act in this role, they may inventory cars they have seized without "unreasonably" searching those cars.
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