Wednesday, January 15, 2014

When can police search your car?

Via Nancy


A calmer approach.

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.

In other words, an officer’s hunch without evidence of illegal activity is not enough to legally 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) arenot considered probable cause.

More @ LRC

4 comments:

  1. Game Wardens are the work arounds for them. I have heard of several examples of this in Texas. All they have to do is "suspect".

    ****Property owners should be aware that in most cases, a game warden can enter private property. In Chapter 12 section 103, the code states, “An authorized employee of the department may enter on any land or water where wild game or fish are known to range or stray. No action may be sustained against an employee of the department to prevent his entering on land or water when acting in his official capacity.”

    However, the code established, if a game warden enters privately-owned land and obtains information, without the written consent of a landowner, that information must be carefully protected. The information that is not directly relevant to any current investigation or research cannot be utilized for additional purposes or entered into a database accessible or maintained by anyone other than the investigating game warden. If this information is disseminated without the landowner’s written consent, the landowner make seek civil damages of $1,000 from the department in the county of residence or in the county the land is located, should they differ.***

    I'm sure that they would not use it for nefarious purposes and would protect that information gleaned with out consent

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. may enter on any land or water where wild game or fish are known to range or stray.

      I don't see how that applies to a vehicle.

      Delete
    2. Suspect you in the illegal taking of game. That is how they apply it to vehicles. It's chicken shit, but they work it.

      Delete
    3. If it was a truck with an open bed, I don't see how they could do it.

      Delete