State v. Patino

In State v. Patino, 83 N.J. 1, 414 A.2d 1327 (1980), the Court held that an arrest for possession of a small amount of marijuana inside a motor vehicle, a disorderly persons offense, justified a search of the passenger compartment of the vehicle but did not warrant a search of the trunk. Of course police may generally conduct a search incident to arrest for evidence or instrumentalities of the crime. In the case of trespass, unlike marijuana possession, there is no evidence or instrumentality of the offense.