Whether a warrantless search may be upheld under the search-incident-to-arrest exception when the search precedes the arrest

QUESTIONS PRESENTED FOR REVIEW 1. In Rawlings v. Kentucky, 448 U.S. 98 (1980), the Court upheld, under the exception, a warrantless search that preceded the “formal arrest.” Eighteen years later, without mentioning Rawlings, the Court held in Knowles v. Iowa, 525 U.S. 118 (1998), that the exception did not authorize a warrantless search that followed the issuance of a citation, even though a custodial arrest occurred soon after. Before and since Knowles, federal and state courts have differed on whether and when a warrantless search that precedes an arrest may be justified under the exception. The Ninth Circuit in this case upheld the warrantless search of Mr. Johnson because the police had probable cause to arrest before the search and arrested him after the search. Judge Watford concurred based on circuit precedent but argued that it should be overruled because, under this Court’s case law, “the authority to conduct [a search incident to arrest] does not arise until an arrest is actually made.” May a warrantless search be upheld under the exception when the search precedes the arrest? D,, Must Mr. Johnson’s convictions for violating 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), felon in possession of a firearm, be reversed for insufficient evidence because there was no proof that he knew at the time of the offense that he had a prior felony conviction, as required by Rehaif v. United States, 139 S. Ct. 2191 (2019)? INTERESTED PARTIES There are no