When are police allowed to search my car?
While police generally need a warrant to search you or your property -- during a traffic stop, police only need probable cause to legally search your vehicle. Probable cause means police must have some facts or evidence to believe you're involved in criminal activity.
Clip from the DVD, BUSTED: The Citizen's Guide to Surviving Police Encounters
In other words, an officer's hunch without evidence of illegal activity is not enough to search your car. Before searching, he must observe something real. Common examples of probable cause include the sight or smell of contraband in plain view or plain smell, or an admission of guilt for a specific crime. The presentation of any of these facts would allow an officer to perform a search and make an arrest.
Be aware that minor traffic violations (e.g. speeding, broken tail-light, or expired registration) are not considered probable cause.
Clip from the DVD, BUSTED: The Citizen's Guide to Surviving Police Encounters
The major exception to the probable cause requirement for vehicle searches is consent. Most vehicle searches don't occur because police have probable cause. They occur because people get tricked or intimidated into consenting to search requests.
Consenting to a search request automatically makes the search legal in the eyes of the law. And the 4th Amendment doesn't require officers to tell you about your right to refuse. So if you're pulled over, don't try to figure out whether or not the officer has probable cause to legally search you. You always have the right to refuse search requests.
If you refuse consent but the officer searches you anyway and finds illegal items, your lawyer can file a motion to suppress -- or throw out -- the evidence in court. If the judge agrees that the officer's search violated the 4th Amendment's probable cause requirements, she'll grant the motion. Unless the prosecution has other evidence, your charges would be dismissed.
