United States v. Santana

The ruling confirmed the Court's view that warrantless searches and arrests may be conducted in public places as long as police can show probable cause for their actions as developed in United States v. Watson (1976) and Katz v. United States (1967). Dissenting justices maintained that police could manipulate circumstances to create the conditions necessary for warrantless search and arrest given the latitude for action that this decision allows them in pursuing criminal investigations and detentions.