The US Constitution protects citizens against unlawful searches of their homes, persons, and cars by the police. Thanks to the Fourth Amendment, you are secure from such searches unless the police have legal grounds to perform the search. This applies to your property as much as to your car.
If the law enforcement performs a search of your car that results in charges filed against you, you still have your legal rights. With the help of an experienced Florida lawyer, you can get the evidence thrown out. As long as you know your rights, and you have the best legal representation, you can beat those charges. Click here for more information.
When can the Police Legally Search your Vehicle
Not all searches of your car performed by the police are illegal. If the police officer has a search warrant, then they can legally search your car and seize anything they find there related to the search warrant as evidence against you. In this case, the search warrant is all the law enforcement officer needs to present to you after identifying themselves and you can’t stop them otherwise you’ll face more charges.
Without that search warrant, anything the police officer finds or collects during the search including but not limited to items found in the car or conversations they had with you, cannot be admitted as evidence in a court of law. Even illicit drugs or unlicensed weapons collected during that illegal search cannot be held against you.
But the police have another legal reason to search your vehicle even without a search warrant. This reason is called probable cause. Probable cause is a legal term that refers to any illegal materials or evidence that is visible to the officer. In other words, if the police officer sees illicit drugs or other incriminating items such as contraband in the car, they have a legal right to search the car and seize these items as evidence.
Other than a search warrant and probable cause, an officer can search your car if you give them your consent to do so. There’s no logical reason for you to give an officer your permission to search your car. The end result will almost always work against you. And if the officer gains that permission through intimidation, then you can have the search and all that entailed declared illegal at court.
If you get arrested while driving your vehicle, then the police are within their rights to search the car. This clause was put into place to protect the officer against any weapons that might be in the car. Another case where the officer might legally search your vehicle outside of all of the above factors is if you pose a menace to the public and an immediate search of the car will prevent you from destroying evidence.
What are your Legal Rights During Car Search?
As you can see, when it comes to the law, the legal rights and safety of the police officer are put front and center. But what about your rights? When the law enforcement officer wants to search your car, what should you do before and during the car search?
First and foremost, if the office has no search warrant and is asking for your permission to search the car, you have every legal right not to grant them that permission. Furthermore, you don’t have to give a reason for this refusal. Most likely the officer has sensed some fear or nervousness on your part and is trying to intimidate you. Just flatly say no.
Another intimidation tactic the officer might resort to is to ask you if you have narcotics or illegal items in the car or if you were under the influence. The officer’s goal is to get you scared enough to give them your consent to search the car. Under Florida State law, you have no obligation to give an answer to these questions. Moreover, to gauge how strong the probable cause the officer might have, ask them directly if you were under arrest. A negative or an evasive answer from the officer would mean that you’re standing on strong grounds.
If the officer insists on searching your car even if you deem that search illegal, you should let them do so. If the search is illegal, you have nothing to fear since any evidence collected in that case would be considered illegal. But you should make it clear to the officer that you don’t give them your consent to search the vehicle. That usually would work and even a novice officer would end the encounter then and there.
What to do when Charged after a Car Search?
As we have seen, again and again, the legal system usually takes the side of law enforcement. The police are often stressed and overworked and if they make personal interpretations of the law or violate your rights, there’s little you can do to set things right. The same applies to car searches that lead to charges. In these situations, it’s best to get legal representation to defend your rights. If the search of the vehicle was conducted on illegal grounds, then the lawyer would be able to help you with that and work on getting the evidence thrown out of court and the charges dropped. Since the legal system is a complex one, you shouldn’t try to navigate it on your own.