Page:Riley v. California AlitoConcurrence.djvu/3

 Opinion of ALITO, J. defendant are bound to take from his person any articles which may be of use as proof in the trial of the offense with which the defendant is charged"); J. Bishop, Criminal Procedure §§210-212, p. 127 (2d ed. 1872) (if an arresting officer finds "about the prisoner's person, or otherwise in his possession, either goods or moneys which there is reason to believe are connected with the supposed crime as its fruits, or as the instruments with which it was committed, or as directly furnishing evidence relating to the transaction, he may take the same, and hold them to be disposed of as the court may direct").

What ultimately convinces me that the rule is not closely linked to the need for officer safety and evidence preservation is that these rationales fail to explain the rule's well-recognized scope. It has long been accepted that written items found on the person of an arrestee may be examined and used at trial. But once these items are