What gave the cops the right to search me?

ATJ

They use "probable cause" to cover their A_ _. They are all on power trips they were the bully's in school!! They can't help it then they go home and kick the dog and beat their wives!!!!!!

It's That Guy

The Bill of Rights clearly states that you are protected from 'unreasonable search and seizure' and that searches are only done with a warrant, based on 'probable cause'.

But in recent years the Supreme Court has grown more and more conservative. Six of the current court were appointed by Reagan or the two Bushes. If these people have anything in common it is that they all believe the government should have more power in law enforcement, that people have no right to privacy. The War on Drugs and now the War on Terrorism have had the effect of further eroding our constitutional protections against the abuses of our own government.

If one of the cops was asked, he'd probably say you allowed the search, therefore it was done with permission. Or that he and his friends had some good reason to suspect you were up to no good. Courts often accept this as a good excuse these days!

Myst

They can if you let them, if you said no they are not allowed without cause. The issue is, try proving to a judge that you said no to allowing them search your car.

Scorpius59

you probably fit "the profile" .

uststrainer

The fourth amendment does not allow for illegal search. However, if you were a cop, what would you think if you saw a white person go to the Projects? I would think drug trafficing. Once they have a statistically valid suspicion, they now have "probable cause".

do this enough and you will know who the officers are. If this happens to you frequently, this can imply that many whites are trafficing. Or you are such an ***, they are messing with you.

Put a big personalized sticker on the back of your car and be VERY friendly to the cops. they will stop bothering you. Oh, the sticker? how about something that they look for as a contribution to one of their organizations. Find a Black Blue Black sticker.

Logic316

I'm not saying this incident didn't happen, but I find it curious that you didn't bother mentioning the state and city where this alleged police abuse occurred. I would think that if something like this happened to somebody, he would want the entire world to know exactly when and where it happened.

hangfire

Driving your car in an area where there is a 'high crime rate' is NOT probable cause for a search. So the answer is no, they are not legally allowed to do that.

Of course, if they ask 'can i search your car' and you say 'yes', then they have your permission and they don't need probable cause. But they usually need an actual reason to pull you over, but that could be anything, like claiming that you didn't stop at stop sign completely. So basically they can do what they want.

What are you going to say? No? Unless there's something you want to hide, then it will just lead to more questions and trouble!

The land of the free, right? I think not.

Matrix

You had every right to deny a search without probable cause. Did they explain why? I was searched one time after I was pulled over and the two cops went out of their way to say that they were looking for someone and apologized for the inconvenience. Just as they were about to get in their car they got a call on the radio and sped off like banshees sirens blazing. it was obviously something serious so I didn't sweat it. Their attitude made all the difference in that case. I really respect the way they handled it as in times past I have been totally disrespected by cops for no reason.

Eric E

They don't have the right to search you if you don't give them consent...watch this video

Viv

Nothing. They don't have the right unless you let them. The constitution protects against warrantless searches.

bestie for lifyy [[SÏ‰Ñ”Ñ”t]]

they really shouldnt have that right

El Scott

You don't really give many details. You probably should have asked the officer that searched your car while you had him/her there. Your vehicle may be searched for a number of reasons (your being white and your friend being black has nothing to do with any of this). Since you are pretty short on the details I'll give you a list of reasons a vehicle may be searched:

1). Consent. The Police may ask you if they can search your car, even if there is no real reason for them to suspect something is wrong.
2). Probable Cause. The Police may search your car without your consent or a search warrant if they have probable cause to believe their is something illegal in the vehicle and it is in a public place. This is called the Carroll Doctrine. They may even search locked or closed containers.
3). A search warrant. The Police may search your vehicle if they have a search warrant. This may be done even if you aren't present.
4). Search Incident to arrest. If someone is arrested from inside your vehicle the Police may search the lungable area in the vehicle for evidence (this is usually limited to the passenger area). it doesn't matter if it is the driver or a passenger.
5). Protective Frisk. If the Officers have reason to believe there is a weapon in the car and the occupant(s) pose a threat to the Officers they may do a protective sweep of the car for weapons even if you don't consent.
6). Abandoned. If you abandoned your car the Police may search it.
7). Inventory. If the Police need to tow your car and they have a standard policy for this they may search your car for an inventory before towing it. Anything illegal found in the vehicle may be used against you.

I might have forgotten one but those are the usual reasons.

Here's a link to the Carroll Doctrine I mentioned since a lot of people have a hard time believing it (Carroll v. United States):
http://supreme.justia.com/us/267/132/case.html

If they had drawn their weapons and proned you out something had to of been going on. Your story doesn't make sense.

older

being in a high crime rate area does not give them the right to search your car---i went to court about that and won--didn;t take 5 minutes

Sadg A

they can do that

majean52

It might be a high crime area, where you dropped off your friend. They have a right to search your car if they have reason to believe, that you might have drugs or what ever. The fact of the matter is they were doing their job, all ended well.

New World

They can do anything they want in their "war against terrorism". "Terrorism" is just a nice-looking reason to check your car, bedroom, pants, computer and account. Nice-looking reason to put everything and anyone under total control.

Montana

From the info you gave, they didn't have probable cause. Unless they could see something illegal in plain sight. Otherwise, you could have said no.

virgil

Racial profiling. They violated your Constitutional rights and they are anti-American communist traitors.

They are well aware of probable cause requirement but they are socialist commies.

Bdubs

You.

Maui

There has to be more to the story than that

BaBy CaKeS

Thats how black people get treated everyday by the police. you can believe me or not but thats how it is.

dingdongwakeup

they can say anything gave them suspicion, like for instance they could say that they thought that the cds you had in your car might have been stolen therefore they had to search you, even if they didn't think they were really Stolen, they can make up any reasons. pigs

Stella's Dad

It's because you're white...Cops Rule!

Elena

did they give you a reason why they searched your car? did they talk to you before searching your car?

RUDE MOOD!

probable cause.

It was racial profiling, no wait, that only applies to minorities (see the federal law).

They used what is called reasonable suspicion. You are in a high crime area, known for drug dealers selling at all hours. You do not physically resemble any of the residents in the project. They ran the plate and found out you do not live in the neighborhood. Hence, reasonable suspicion that you were there to buy drugs.

Legal? Yes.

Ethical? No.

hdhayes60

Legally, they would need probable cause before searching your vehicle. However, if they ask first, and you give your consent, then no probable cause is needed.

floopkabop

Sue. Or do something because if you didn't do anything to get pulled over, then they had no reason too.

Only if you did something that would make them suspect you did something. Ya know?
But otherwise do something.

Tampa Biz

You could have been in an area that had a crime rate which gave them reasonable suspicion to search your car.

They also could have had a tip "Hey there is a person in this car w/ this license plate that has illegal stuff in it and they are going to drop off person A at this house at this time"

If you matched that decription they would have enough pc (probable cause) to search you.

King Kong Killer

It happens cops are crooks maby they thought you had some drugs and just wanted some

wineboy

Imagine if you were black. There's a pretty good chance they would have found a reason to arrest you. Something. Anything. Because being black in America is a crime.

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