United States v. Ross

Acting on an informant's tip, D.C. police stopped and searched Ross's (defendant's) car, finding a bullet on the driver's seat and then a gun in the glove compartment; after arresting Ross, officers opened the trunk with his keys and found a brown paper bag containing what appeared to be drugs, and a later station-house search of the trunk uncovered a zippered leather pouch containing cash. Ross moved to suppress the contents of both containers; the trial court denied the motion and he was convicted, but the en banc court of appeals reversed, vacating the conviction based on greater privacy expectations attached to the containers.