In the 1986 case Colorado v. Bertine, the US Supreme Court ruled that police officers can inventory a vehicle and its contents after arresting the driver, without violating Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures. The case arose when Robert Edward Bertine was arrested for drunk driving in Boulder, Colorado. His van was impounded and during an inventory search of his belongings, police found drugs inside a backpack. Bertine argued this evidence should be suppressed because it was obtained through an unconstitutional search. However, the court held that as long as inventories are conducted according to standard procedures and not as a ruse for general rummaging in order to discover incriminating evidence; they are constitutionally permissible.

In the dissenting opinion for Colorado v. Bertine, Justice Marshall argued that police should not have unlimited discretion to inventory and seize personal property during an arrest without a warrant or probable cause. He believed this violated the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable searches and seizures. The majority ruling allowed police to open closed containers found in vehicles during routine inventories following arrests, but Marshall contended that such actions were more akin to investigatory searches rather than neutral administrative procedures. He also expressed concern about potential abuse of power by law enforcement officers who might use their discretionary authority as a pretext for conducting unwarranted investigative searches under the guise of inventory procedures.