You’re pulled over for a suspected DUI or another traffic violation. The officer is approaching your side door, and you’re not sure what to do next. In this situation, knowing your legal and constitutional rights is critical. The choices you make during a traffic stop can have a big impact on your future.
Make sure you know your rights when dealing with law enforcement officials
One of the most important things to understand about traffic stops is when the police are allowed to search your vehicle without a warrant. As with so many things in the law, the short answer is “it depends.” Here’s what you need to know.
Under the Fourth Amendment, the police can search your vehicle if they have “probable cause” or your permission
In the context of a search, probable cause means the officer has a reasonable basis to believe that there is evidence of a crime present in the vehicle. Police generally have more leeway to search vehicles compared to homes—the law essentially says you have a lesser expectation of privacy when driving—but they still need an actual reason based on trustworthy information, not just a hunch.
This reasonable basis might be something the officer already knows before the traffic stop, or it may be based on observations made during the traffic stop itself. For example, if the officer sees signs that you are intoxicated, they may have probable cause to search your vehicle for evidence of drug or alcohol use.
Officers don’t need probable cause to simply look at what is in plain view from outside the vehicle. For example, if the officer sees a bottle of alcohol in a cupholder or drug paraphernalia on your dashboard, that may establish probable cause to search other parts of the vehicle for more evidence.
In addition, police can always search your vehicle with your consent. So, one of the most important things to remember during a traffic stop is that you should never consent to a search, even if you think there’s nothing incriminating in your vehicle.
Protecting your rights if the police want to search your car
If the police ask permission to search your car, tell them in no uncertain terms that you do not consent to searches. However, if the police insist on searching the vehicle anyway, don’t physically resist or block them. Follow their instructions, but reiterate that you are not giving your consent to the search.
Then, talk to a criminal defense attorney as soon as possible. A lawyer who knows the rules around probable cause and vehicle searches can challenge the search in court. Some ways your lawyer can challenge the search include:
- Arguing that the police did not have consent or probable cause.
- Arguing that an item that the police say was “in plain view” was actually not in plain view.
- Arguing that probable cause, if the police had it, only extended to one part of the vehicle.
If the police violated your rights by searching your car without probable cause or consent, then anything they found during the search, and anything else they found using the evidence they discovered in the search, can potentially be thrown out. Often, this means the charges against you will be dropped because there isn’t enough evidence left to get a conviction. But even if the prosecution presses forward, getting evidence suppressed will weaken the case against you.
Get an experienced criminal defense attorney on your side
If you’ve been charged with DUI or any other crime after a traffic stop, you need a lawyer with a proven track record of results in high-stakes criminal cases. Don’t take chances with your freedom. Get Grajek. Give us a call or contact us online for a free consultation.