California v. Acevedo - Dissent Finds Warrantless Search Unacceptable

Justices Stevens, Marshall and White disagreed with the majority. Stevens urged in his dissenting opinion that the search of Acevedo's bag without a search warrant was unconstitutional. He reasoned that there was no justification for not requiring a warrant where the container had been seized and was under police control. Thus, there was no risk that the evidence would be destroyed or hidden before a warrant could be obtained. Under such circumstances Stevens found the loss of individual privacy resulting from the warrantless search to be unacceptable.