One of the most frequent situations in which people are arrested for drug possession in Pennsylvania is during a traffic stop in which a police officer searches a car for drugs and arrests one or more of the occupants. This should not be surprising, as the police generally need a search warrant to enter a home, and most people generally interact with the police when they are being stopped on the road rather than being stopped while walking or sitting. But it raises the question of whether the police actually have the right to search a car for drugs in light of our Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures.
The law on this issue is surprisingly complex and continues to evolve as the Supreme Court addresses new situations involving automobile searches, but here are a few basic principles to keep in mind. If the driver does consent to the search, and no duress was used in obtaining that consent, then the search will generally be legal. Thus, if an officer sees drugs or drug paraphernalia sitting on your backseat or next to you without entering the car, the officer can seize those items.
Aside from the above exceptions, a police officer will generally need to have probable cause to search your car for evidence of a crime. Probable cause exists where the total amount of facts available to a police officer at the time the search is made would lead a reasonable person to believe contraband is in the specific part of the car being searched. Law enforcement officers frequently misapply the standards described above either intentionally or out of ignorance to justify searches that are actually illegal under state and federal law.
By working with an experienced criminal defense attorney, you can call into question the legality of a search of your automobile and potentially have the evidence that was seized thrown out of your prosecution for a drug crime. If you have been charged with or are under investigation for any drug-related crime in Pennsylvania, The Martin Law Firm, P. Contact us today for a free consultation with a PA criminal defense attorney today to discuss your circumstances.
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Please submit the form and an attorney will contact you shortly. Please indicate how you would like to be contacted in the form. The information on this website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. Searches should be done in a way that minimises distress to the child, particularly if children have been 'looked after' children, have experienced abuse in the past or are particularly young. In some cases children are used as couriers for drugs or weapons.
Where illegal items are found, the police may refer the child to the local authority or the Procurator Fiscal. Officers do not have to inform parents that the child has been searched, but may decide to do so even if this is against the wishes of the child. They should explain to the child why this decision has been made. Children should receive a receipt of the search and can make complaints about the police on their own. Some people who have mental illness, personality disorders, autism or learning disabilities may find it difficult to communicate or understand a search and may be considered vulnerable adults.
Particular care must be taken to ensure the vulnerable adult understands what is happening and is not distressed, taking into account their individual needs. If the vulnerable adult lacks the capacity to understand why a search is taking place and what will happen, there is a presumption that the search should not go ahead. If you are with a vulnerable adult who is being searched you can ask for the officer to take particular steps to protect that person. For example, you could ask to be present while the search is taking place to keep them calm.
Can the police search your car without permission?
You may also make the officer aware of any particular difficulties they have, for example if they have autism and do not like to be touched. Part 4, section 8 of the stop and search code of practice has some guidelines for the police about how to communicate with vulnerable adults, available on the Scottish Government website.
If you have been detained for a search you can ask to be searched by a constable of the gender you identify with, and this request should be met. You should be treated with dignity and respect by the officers involved in the search. If you are made to feel uncomfortable during a search, for example because your physical appearance is commented upon, or your requests are not met, you can make a complaint.
This may also be a breach of your human rights for which you may want to take action. If you or a family member has been searched in a way that is a breach of human rights, you may want to challenge the treatment by the police. Anyone who is searched should be treated with dignity and respect for their individual needs. This means that the police should try to understand your disability and take it into account when searching you.
You should make the police aware if there is anything that you would be uncomfortable with or unable to do during a search.
Getting searched | Victoria Legal Aid
For example, if you would be in pain raising your arms above your head during a strip search. If you having a hearing impairment, the police should make sure you understand the information they have given you about the search. This may mean they get a BSL interpreter or someone you know to help. If you don't feel that your individual needs were taken into account during a search, you can make a complaint.
Disability is also a protected characteristic under discrimination law, so you may be able to take legal action in some circumstances. See Complaints and legal action against the police. Police officers in uniform have the power to stop a motor vehicle on a road and ask the driver to produce:. There's a code of practice the police have to follow when doing a search for cash or assets. Police officers have the power to set up a road check and stop all vehicles or selected vehicles on any road.
A police officer can require you to take a breath test breathaliser or undergo other tests if you have been driving, attempting to drive or have been in charge of a motor vehicle and they suspect you have:.
Do I Have to Consent to a Police Search of My Car?
A test for alcohol will normally be a breath test, also known as a breathaliser. A test for drugs will usually be a saliva swab. You may also be asked to give a sweat swab. It's an offence to refuse to provide a specimen of breath, saliva or sweat or take a test in these circumstances without a reasonable excuse. The current limit in Scotland in relation to alcohol in the breath is 22 microgrammes of alcohol in ml of breath. The limit in relation to alcohol in the blood is 50 microgrammes per ml of blood. Certain illegal drugs, including cannabis and cocaine, have a near zero limit.
There are also limits on some medicines like diazepam. Anyone who appears to be affected and unfit to drive can be prosecuted under the impairment offence, even when taking medicine in line with the prescription. Once they have carried out a search of a person or a vehicle, the police have the power to seize and retain anything that they consider to be relevant to an offence. The police have the power to confiscate alcohol from people under 18 who are drinking in a public place.
They can also confiscate alcohol from people aged 18 or over if it's suspected that the alcohol has been consumed or it's intended for consumption by people under The police can confiscate fireworks that they think are going to be used for antisocial purposes. The police have the power to move you on if they believe that you are obstructing the lawful passage of any other person in any public places or if you either individually or as part of a group are being riotous or disorderly, anywhere, to the alarm, annoyance or disturbance of the public. If you've been asked to move on, you are entitled to ask for a reason and you should expect to receive one.
If you refuse to move you're likely to be charged with an offence.
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Groups of people can be ordered to leave certain areas known as dispersal areas, such as local parks, to prevent antisocial behaviour. A police officer can give you an 'on the spot' fine fixed penalty notice for some types of antisocial behaviour or parking violations. See Antisocial behaviour and Parking tickets issued by the police.
There are also certain statutes which provide for the search of premises, cars or vessels without a warrant. Evidence obtained legally by these means would be admissible as evidence in a court. Admissibility of evidence obtained during a search is always subject to examination by the courts and depends on the circumstances of particular cases.
A search warrant authorises the police to enter premises on one occasion only. If the police have a search warrant they can, if necessary, use reasonable force to enter and search the premises. The householder or occupier of the premises is responsible for any repairs that are needed as a result of the police forcing entry. However, if the police search an address in error, the police should be asked to repair any damage they cause. As well as getting a warrant to enter and search because of suspected crime, a warrant can be issued to enter premises to check if the occupant is at risk because of mental illness.
Cops can't automatically search your car, but the circumstances may allow them to.
For example if a local authority has been unable to get access to premises where it believes that there is an adult at risk of harm it can seek a warrant of entry. The warrant allows a police office to open a locked door by force if necessary. The warrant lasts for one month and does not automatically give the police permission to seize and keep anything they find.
If the police have used a search warrant to search premises or a vehicle and they have found articles covered by the warrant, they have the power to seize them and take them into safe custody, for example, to a police station. The articles are held there as possible evidence in any criminal proceedings which the Procurator Fiscal may decide to start.
Where a warrant is granted to search for specific items of stolen property, the police have the power to seize other items not referred to in the warrant if they show the suspect may have been involved in another crime. If the police have seized certain items of yours after a search, you have no right to make the police return them. If you want to ask about retrieving articles from the police you should write to the Chief Constable to establish if the property is to be used in evidence.