Can a police offcier search your car...?

bbasingal

Yeppers.........

Let me help you out here.

When you get pulled over for speeding.......you are being stopped for suspicion of committing a crime (speeding).

That crime (speeding) can lead to an arrest (ticket - yes a ticket is an arrest it's just not a "custodial arrest").

Police are allowed to make a search for officer safety and make a search incident to an arrest (your ticket).

The limitations are generally limited to those areas accessible to the passengers of the automobile and would not include the trunk or a locked glove compartment. However, if the occupant (s) give consent or a K-9 smells something funny, those areas may be opened as well. In addition, if the vehicle is going to be towed from the scene; an inventory will be made of the vehicle including any locked areas.

List of resources below........

Hope this helps.

MenifeeManiac

There has to be probable cause for the search without a warrant, in order for the discovered contraband to be admissable into evidence.

More information is needed here...

xyzed23

ya if he has probable cause like suspicion of drunk driving, smelling something, being black, ect..

Joe A

Yes, but if he does not have cause to search he can not....You can say no when he asks you the question, and he cannot search the car. He would probably then get a K-9 Officer to come sniff the outside of the car, if the K-9 hits on the car, he now has probable cause to search then.

luciousgreeneyedlady

yes, they do it all the time where I live.

Blue Steel & Lace

If the officer has probable cause, they can search your vehicle without a warrant.
If the officer suspects that you have contraband in your car and you do not give him permission, they can have a narcotics dog brought to the traffic stop location. If the narcotics dog signals on drugs in the vehicle, they then have probable cause to conduct a search.

joyceeleann

If he has cause too...say you are under the influence than yes

James S

Yeah. If you get pulled over for speeding or are under the influence then they can search your car. But if they pull you over for no apparent reason then they can't search your car. It's the 3rd or 4th amendment.

Lance

They are cops. They can do anything. They can kill you and make you look like you had it coming.

they are supposed to have probable cause, but sometimes they will ask you "you don't have any illegal drugs in your car, you don't mind if I take a look? If you say no, you are consenting to a search. Instead you should say no officer I don't consent to a search.

darkmagik

The police can "Search" open and unlocked parts of your vehicle, accessible by opening doors and windows, without a warrant. Anything you have in those places is considered "in plain sight" for legal purposes, and could serve as an immediate threat to the officer (if they can get to it easily, so can you).

What the police can't do, without a warrant, is search locked storage compartments like your trunk. They can ask if you'd open them ("Hey, do you mind opening the trunk?"), but you are not obliged to. The moment you open those, they become "in plain sight," and are subject to search without warrant.

Be advised, if you refuse to open the trunk (or another compartment), that may be considered suspicious, and the officer can then detain you long enough to attain a warrant, call for backup, or take other action. If a police dog hits on a locked compartment, that is a legally acceptable reason for the police to force the compartment open.

Most officers will not bother with searching your car when you're pulled over for speeding, unless you've done something, or they've seen something, to make them suspicious. Despite popular thought to the contrary, most police officers are not out give you a hard time, make your life miserable, and generate paperwork for themselves. The side of the road is a dangerous place, and most will not spend any more time there than is necessary to do their job and make sure you're not a danger to the community.

vinlunney

they have to establish probable cause. if you read the bill of rights the police can't search your house, property or your effects without a warrant unless they can make a case. for instance, if you were speeding it might be you were on your way to a drug bust. if they catch you drunk, or smelling like coke and pot or they see bottles and beer cans they will have no problem searching you. the easiest thing is to just let them search since the system will more than likely be on the cop's side. if you haven't done anything you should be clear. also, you might want to check with the criminal lawyers in their area to be sure.

Vin

They dont need a warrant, they can do a brief search for things if they give you a ticket or something. You can say i dotn consent to a search all you want, but they will find a way if they really wanted to, because they could impound your car

Girly McRadical

from what i understand, no they can't force you to allow them to search your car without a warrent, thats why they ask you, but if you refuse that gives them cause to take you in and draw up a search warrant, but i could be wrong

dawnofrabbits

I believe that in most states today, a Law Officer is allowed to search your vehicle "only" if he/she can assertain that there is "probable cause"; meaning that there is something readily observable by the senses that does not appear right. The scent of "marajuana" (Sp?) would be one such example that could be considered such a situation as "probable cause". Otherwise, they can only search your vehicle with a "Search Warrant".

Jeffery C

Was the contraband in plain view?
Did the policeman have reasonable suspicion that you had a weapon available?

Did the police have Probable Cause that you had contraband or evidence of a crime in your car and there was not time to get a warrant?

Did you give him consent (best thing to do if you are not guilty)?

Norskeyenta

Yes.

rick r

he needs reasonable cause such as the driver or a passenger acting suspicious or say he smells something odd

Snuggles

A police can only search your car without a warrant if you give him the permission. Other then that they are not allowed to search your auto without a warrant.

Amanda S

If there is something in plain sight that gives the officer reason to believe that there is something in the vehicle, then he or she will ask your permission to search your vehicle. That does not mean that there always has to be consent. There is also the plain sight law!! And if he smells drugs, such as marijuania or meth, that is probable cause as well.

MICHAEL L

probable cause is the primary reason IE something just don,t look right to the officer i think of it this way i got pulled over 2 year,s ago by local pd for busted tail light ya he wrote out warning spotted two box,s of shotgun shell in back seat asked me told him truth was just at wall mart got shell,s for trap shooting on sat no problem 3 day,s latter down at shotgun range after shooting shotgun all day i drive out of range taillight fixed when up the street as smoking cig hot ash drop,s on leg swerved a bit in road state cop pull,s me over ask told him the truth he smell,s gun smoke cordite

mrtobble

yes

thedavecorp

Theoretically no, BUT:

If he has probable cause he can - such as a reason to believe that you're hiding something illegal. What is probable cause - ANY reason, which can be made up or not. How can you PROVE he didn't have probable cause - you can't. Not unless you got a video-tape of everything the cop did - which will not help your situation if you were speeding.

YouGotTold

Only if he has probable cause to do so, and it has to be a good cause. Other than this scenario, only with a warrant. Did he give you a reason? If you're not satisfied with it, take it the chief of police in your area.

Nat

A cop can't search your car unless you give consent or have weapons, drugs, etc. in plain sight (like a gun sitting on the front seat). He can look through the windows to see if anything's in plain view and he can call a K-9 to sniff your car. If the dog alerts on your car, he doesn't need a warrant to search your car.

They have to have a search warant under the 4th amendment
The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution requires that searches and seizures conducted under governmental authority be "reasonable". Toward that end, the amendment specifies that judicially sanctioned search and arrest warrants must be supported by probable cause and be limited in scope according to specific information supplied by a person (usually a peace officer) who has sworn by it and is therefore accountable to the issuing court.

The amendment applies only to governmental actors; it does not guarantee to people the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures conducted by private citizens or organizations. More specifically, the Bill of Rights only restricts the power of the federal government, but the Supreme Court of the United States has ruled that the Fourth Amendment is applicable to state governments by operation of the Fourteenth Amendment.[1] Moreover, all state constitutions contain an analogous provision. For an example, see Article 1, Â§ 7 of the Tennessee Constitution.

The Supreme Court has said that some searches and seizures may violate the Fourth Amendment's reasonableness requirement even if a warrant is supported by probable cause and is limited in scope.[2] Conversely, the Court has approved routine warrantless seizures, for example "where there is probable cause to believe that a criminal offense has been or is being committed."[3] Thus, the reasonableness requirement and the warrant requirement are somewhat distinct.

Regarding the Fourth Amendment's reasonableness requirement, it applies not just to a search in combination with a seizure, but also applies to a search without a seizure, as well as to a seizure without a search.[4] Hence, the amendment is not limited to protecting elements of privacy or personal autonomy, but rather applies pervasively to virtually all aspects of criminal law. Nevertheless, the amendment is not so broad as to replace other constitutional provisions, such as replacing the Eighth Amendment's ban on "cruel and unusual" punishment with a more sweeping ban on "unreasonable" punishment.

The Fourth Amendment was needed because the writs of assistance had alarmed the country, and had inspired citizens to demand their rights. Congress recognized those demands, and so we have the Fourth Amendment today. But does the word "unreasonable" mean unreasonable according to the people of 1789, or according to people today, or according to judges, or according to juries? This question has not been definitively answered. However, to the extent that the Fourth Amendment is used for purposes of striking down statutes, the framers expected that the standard of review would be clear and irreconcilable variance with the Fourth Amendment

JJ's Advice Column

it is illegal to search without a warrant. all they can do it open your car to take you out! by under no means can they search your car without a warrant! it doesnt matter if your high or have drugs in your car, they need a warrant...its common sense!

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