When Can Police Search My Car?

It can be confusing when an officer asks to search your car, especially during what seems like a routine traffic stop. Many people don’t understand their rights in this situation or whether they should cooperate with the officer’s request.

The police may need a search warrant to enter your house, but there are exceptions for automobiles that give the police more access. For legal advice, talk to a criminal defense lawyer about your Fourth Amendment rights.

Responding to Law Enforcement Officers

“Many honest, hard-working people have this belief that if they comply—and give the officer this and give him that—this officer is going to be my friend. It just doesn’t work out that way,” says Stephen Hébert, a Louisiana criminal defense attorney. “The officer is looking for some reason to arrest you, and it’s just that plain and simple.”‘reasonable suspicion’ is a subjective standard explains why it’s litigated constantly,” Crotty adds.

Law enforcement must first have a valid reason to pull you over, which requires only a minor traffic violation. As Hébert explains, officers can “follow you around for an hour and wait for you to commit a traffic violation with the intent of pulling you over. As long as they have that objective violation, they’re ok to pull you over.” A violation could be as simple as a failure to signal a turn or a broken taillight.

Getting pulled over for a traffic infraction never makes your day. It’s even more stressful if the police then ask to search your car. What exactly are the rules? It all depends on the circumstances, says Liz Crotty, a criminal defense attorney in New York. “The police must have reasonable suspicion of criminal activity to search, and they must be able to articulate that suspicion,” she says.

In general, if you’re stopped, criminal defense attorney Fran Hoffinger recommends:

• Be polite, but don’t consent to a search.
• Have your driver’s license, registration, and insurance card ready.
• Stay calm and keep your hands visible.
• Get out of the car if asked to.
• Talk as little as possible.
• If ticketed for anything other than the reason for the stop, get a lawyer.

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Probable Cause and Warrantless Searches

This is a fundamental principle of civics. The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects people against unreasonable searches and seizures. To justify a search, there must be some basis to believe a crime has been committed. “But because ‘reasonable suspicion’ is a subjective standard, it’s litigated constantly,” Crotty adds.

“Once you’re pulled over, something additional must give that officer probable cause to go into the vehicle,” Hébert says. “If an officer can articulate that evidence or contraband can be found in your vehicle, they can go digging in whether you consent or not.”

Let’s look at a reasonable belief search first. Perhaps someone gets pulled over for running a stoplight. The officer approaches and smells marijuana, or the driver appears drunk. There is now reasonable suspicion that they’re driving under the influence (DUI). The officer may reasonably search the car for more evidence.

“The glove compartment may technically be in plain view if you had to get your license or registration from there,” Crotty adds.

It’s problematic when the evidence is found using what Crotty calls “broken-tail-light policing.” Perhaps an officer says the stop was because the driver didn’t signal during a left turn. “I’ll say, ‘Did you write a ticket for the traffic infraction?'” Crotty says. “And they’ll say ‘no.’ Well, that was the whole basis for the stop!”

Say No, Politely, to a Vehicle Search

When an officer asks permission to search your car, it might seem obliging to agree, but it’s not a good idea. There could be something in your car that leads to criminal charges, even if a passenger left it there. “People always think that saying ‘no’ means you must be guilty. But police don’t always have a right to conduct a search,” Hoffinger says. “If you give them your consent, then they do because you consented.”

If an officer requests permission to search a vehicle, Hébert notes that it’s probably a good sign that they don’t have probable cause or cannot articulate a single fact or reasonable suspicion to justify probable cause to go digging. He adds that the police could detain you there for a reasonable amount of time, as well as call for a canine to come walk around your car. “But if the canine doesn’t alert, they shouldn’t be allowed to go into your vehicle.”

It’s also not a good idea to answer a lot of questions: Where were you this evening? Do you have anything in your car that you shouldn’t? “You have a right to remain silent,” Hoffinger says. “And my advice always is: Don’t answer questions other than your name, address, and other identifying information. Be as quiet as possible.” Things you say might be used against you.

And if a police officer decides to search your car without permission or reason? Don’t argue, Hoffinger says. “Let your lawyer do the arguing,” she says. Police have to articulate their reasons for stops and seizures before a judge. Your attorney can file a motion to suppress the unlawful search for illegal items. If the police officer’s justifications aren’t reasonable or lawful, the court may suppress the evidence from the illegal search.

“Why would you ever give them more of an opportunity to find a reason to arrest you? It’s overwhelmingly not in your interest to ever consent to any type of search, nor to give any type of statement to an officer, without the presence of a lawyer and legal advice.”

Many who have consented to an officer’s request to search a vehicle have later regretted the decision. “There are several cases where someone consents to a search, or makes a voluntary statement, thinking that the officer is going to let them go, or go soft on them for being cooperative. Time after time, they aren’t lenient at all,” says Hébert. “They go in, find the contraband, and arrest the person.”

Challenging or Dismissing an Unlawful Search Case in Court

The court may dismiss the case, as in the case of one of Crotty’s clients, who was a passenger in a cab and was stopped. Plain-clothes officers approached and began yelling at the cab driver without announcing they were police. Crotty’s client yelled from the back seat, “What are you doing? He didn’t do anything wrong.”

The police search found no evidence of a crime, but Crotty’s client was still charged with obstructing the officers. “It was a crazy case,” Crotty says. “The obstruction happened before he was even aware that they were the government. And they couldn’t really say he was obstructing because the officers weren’t doing anything that was enforcing a law.”

A judge agreed and dismissed the charges.

Find Legal Help

Hébert urges people to always be polite with officers. “Even if the officer is not polite, be more polite. It doesn’t get you anywhere to be a jackass. All that ever does is make things worse, regardless of what the officer’s intentions are,” he says. “If it’s a simple traffic stop, there is no reason to say, ‘I know my rights’ and all that kind of stuff. Answer the officer’s questions to the extent you feel you should for a simple traffic stop. Contact a traffic violations lawyer for legal advice about your case.