05 August ,2014 By Admin Category:Protective Rights

Have you ever wondered whether you are required to permit a police officer to search you or your car? Well wonder no more! If a police officer stops you while driving or while walking down your street he may want to find out more information about you.  This is the police officer’s job. The police officer does not care to know you, he or she merely wants to find any evidence that can implicate you in a crime or some type of illegal activity.

For example, say you are driving to a bar with 3 friends in the car.  A police officer stops you because he believes you made an unsafe lane change.  During the stop the police officer asks whether he can search your vehicle.  You wonder, “Do I have to consent to a search of my vehicle?”  Well, the answer is NO. Your 4^th Amendment right allows you to refuse unreasonable searches (meaning without a warrant).  Some may argue that if you have nothing to hide there is no reason to refuse a search of your vehicle, but that is a personal decision.  Why should you be inconvenienced because an officer is trying to put you in handcuffs?

Often times people get scared or nervous when they deal with law enforcement.  This makes people do strange things like permitting an officer to search a vehicle.  Do not let an officer search your vehicle.  If an officer asks to search your vehicle that likely means that he or she does not have any reason to search your vehicle.  That is why the officer needs your permission to do so.  The officer’s goal is to find drugs, weapons, and other illegal items in your pocket or in your car.

How Does a Police Officer Get To Search Your Car?

As I mention above, there are times when police can justify searching your vehicle without your consent or a warrant.  One such circumstance is when the officer can see something illegal in your car that is clearly visible; this is known as the “plain view” rule.  If that is the case, the officer does not need a warrant or your consent to search the vehicle.  Plain view means exactly what its name states — if an officer can view something that may be illegal in your vehicle by merely looking inside while outside of your car then that is sufficient to amount to probable cause.

Another time the police can search your car without permission or a warrant is if they have probable cause.  The phrase probable cause may sound familiar to you.  Probable cause does not have a clear definition, but courts have stated that it means something along the lines of “a fair probability that a crime has been committed or is being committed by an individual” and in this case, that individual is YOU.

If, for instance, an officer pulled over a car for speeding and smelled marijuana when he approached the vehicle, he would have probable cause to conduct a search.  Probable cause doesn’t even have to be obvious.  If the officer feels there is something suspicious about your behavior or the vehicle, he can legally search the car.

A police officer can also do a general, or “cursory”, search of your or your vehicle for weapons only.  This can be done only when the police officer has reasonable suspicion that you may be armed and dangerous.  Reasonable suspicion requires the police officer to articulate, reasonable and objective facts and observations in his or her belief that you were armed and dangerous.

To recap, an officer may not search your car unless:

1. You give him permission to do so.
2. The officer has probable cause to search you or your vehicle.
3. The officer has reasonable suspicion that your may be armed and therefore, can search you or your vehicle for only items that may seem to have weapons; Nothing more!
4. Plain View rule applies because the officer sees something illegal in your car.

There may be other reasons to search your vehicle but they are either very rare in nature and do not apply often enough to typical situations to warrant their discussion.  With that said, if you understand what police officers can and cannot do when they stop you, then you will be very prepared to handle them when the time comes.