Refusing consent to search?

Any time the officer has a reason to have you step out of the car, the officer can perform a limited search of you and your vehicle. That reason can be something as simple as you acting nervous, moving around a lot, suspicious hand movements, aggressive attitude, or even if the officer makes it a standard procedure on every traffic stop he/she makes.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the officer has a right to ensure his/her own safety when dealing with any member of the public for any legal reason. That means any time that an officer comes into contact with a person on any type of police call: suspicous person, domestic disturbance, disorderly conduct, traffic violation, etc.

According to the Court, the officer can conduct a "pat down" search of the person, checking for weapons. This means the officer can pat down the outside of person's clothing feeling for weapons. If an officer feels anything that, based on his/her training and experience, could possibly be a weapon, drugs, or other illegal item, the officer can then go inside the pocket to determine the true nature of that item. They are looking for weapons, but if they find anything else, it'll stick in court.

The officer is also allowed to conduct what is referred to as a "wing-span" search of the vehicle to check for weapons. This search covers any area of the vehicle that could be reached by any occupant of the vehicle. If there is more than one person in the car, this will pretty much cover the entire passenger compartment of the car. It does not, however, include a locked glove box or the trunk, unless the inside of the trunk was accessible to a person inside the car (such as if the back seat was laid forward, leading into the trunk). The officer is checking for weapons, but if they find anything else illegal, it will stick in court.

And someone else already mentioned it, but the police can also conduct an inventory search of your vehicle if you are arrested for any reason, provided they are not releasing the vehicle to someone you authorized. The decision on whether to release it or tow it is completely up to the officer. The arrest can any type of arrest, from a major felony to an unpaid fine. The search is to document the contents of the vehicle, and locate and make note of any valuables to avoid later claims of missing or damaged property. But, if they find anything illegal during this search, it'll stick in court.

dropkicksiu

The US Supreme court in the Carroll case decided that officers do not need a search warrant to search a car. As long as they have probable cause which would support a search warrant they can search the car without a warrant. This is referred to as the "automobile exception" to the warrant requirement. There are many ways they can build probable cause. One is by a canine sniff/alert of the car. Other factors that could lead to PC is information provided by a confidential source, the suspects body language, inconsistent statements, plain view. this list is not exhaustive but merely a few of the ways to build probable cause. Read ahead in your criminal justice books and you will find the answer, Grasshopper.

jawsh3539

They were just following the law. You may have peaked their interest for some reason. Just because you are a criminal justice major does not mean you know how the law really applies. Thre of my friends who are now officers have degrees in criminal justice. They all claim what they really needed to know they learned in the academy and FTO.

DBWH

A cop can search your car all he [or she] wants. It's just that if it is not done in a legal way then the evidence obtained will not hold up in court.

daydoom

Probable cause is an elusive, difficult thing to dispute, you can be acting nervous, as you would if you had contraband, and an officer has probable cause to search.

piesyor

If you are placed under arrest for ANY reason, they can then search & inventory your vehicle incident to an arrest

beez

Anytime you have illegal things in your vehicle, you need to worry.

dapixelator

I think they have to have probably cause to search your car.

Otherwise, if there is something illegal in plain sight, they can then search your car (that will give them probable cause).

They can't search otherwise.

gabs4_28

they have any leagal rights to search ur car. but if u say no, then they bring the k-9 unit.

Argumentative

Cops generally do what they want; I can't beleive they even asked to search your car. The only reason they did not continue to d1ck with you is because you mentioned your major was criminal justice, which means you might actually understand your rights.

Manny

That's what they were looking for, drugs. They don't care about the ones the dog can't find, just the ones they can find, just in case.

The only way they can gain access to locked portions of your vehicle is by consent, if the dogs get a hit, if they see something in plain view, or are aresting you.

It's possible but not at all likely that they were calling a bomb sniffing dog? Dogs can be trained to sniff out anything with an odor, but they aren't going to be trained for things that aren't in high demand, and you hit on the biggies, but they aren't going to call a bomb dog for run of the mill traffic citations.

Ozz

Here's one example bro. If you have "illegal" prescription meds in your vehicle, the narco dogs are incapable of detecting them. Just make sure the pills are well outta sight.

â™¥ Tori â™¥

Honey, I don't know. I hope you find an answer to your question! :o)

â˜”ULâ˜¼

Good for you! Sounds like you learned and stood up for your rights in a difficult situation. If more people were like you then this country would be a better place to live for everyone. I imagine if he noticed something such as the odor of marijuana, or something in plain sight, that would amount to probable cause to search, or if your crime was more severe and you're placed under arrest they'll be able to search? Luckily I've never been in that situation, nor do I ever expect to be as I'm not a criminal.

roy40372

all they have to do is get a search warnt and search it. you should have learned this already besides they have the patriot act and search anything they want now even wire tap your phone or hack into your computer. Don't they teach anything in school anymore.

aint_no_stoppin_us

Here's a thought. Don't have illegal items in your car!

[deleted]

Well, you're the Criminal Justice Major, not me :-P

pert652003

get a warrant officer

scruffycat

I don't get it. You're a criminal justice major. If you had nothing to hide, why on earth were/are you worried in the first place???

Pia

Huh??

Without a warrant, I wonder the same thing. But you know your legal resources, youknow you can file a grievance and request a formal inquiry

jim ex marine offi,

you are kidding, if you were a criminal justice major you would already know the 4th amendment was f,,,,ed when Clinton asked for the right to search w/o a warrant, now the police can stop you and search your Vehicle and you and your passengers w/o a warrant, this also applies to your home office or??? the law is written saying any thing the gov, has an interest in, what the hell is it they don't have an interest in?/

suzieq

They cant without probable cause and then they have to detain you until they get a warrant...most people don't know that and let them search and get busted....you did the right thing but sorry about the tickets..they needed to score some points for pulling you over so they did the next best thing citations to collect money. Its the bureaucracy we have to deal with!!!!

http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AqyY28dRpXWm30nJ.Q3nwf76HQx.?qid=20061027160709AAWdpY2

John G

Generally if you don't give them consent that makes them suspicious and from that susoicion they can find probable cause and search anyway.It is better just to let them search since you have nothing to hide.

outlaw64

it seems to me that they were duck hunting and you went quack
sorry to hear about the bad luck

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