New York’s highest court has reversed a midlevel appellate court decision, saying prosecutors failed to meet the legal bar for a warrantless search of a defendant’s backpack.

The New York Court of Appeals’ decision centered on a burglary case out of New York City in which police arrested a defendant blocks away from a victim’s house. An officer opened the man’s backpack on the street and found laptops, a bag of jewelry, gloves and a screwdriver, according to a letter from the Queens County District Attorney’s office.