Can an Officer Search Your Car if You Get Pulled Over for a Traffic Violation

[james134]

My question involves criminal law for the state of Florida. Me and three friends are taking a road trip to Florida in a couple days. We are all 18, so no one can legally drink alcohol. However, we are still bringing a few bottles down to Florida with us. We are going to put the bottles in a suitcase in the trunk and they will remain unopened for the entire trip. Hopefully we will not get pulled over for any traffic violation, but if we do and for some reason the officer asks to search the vehicle could I say no? I mean, I know I could say no, but I feel like if I do say no then he will be hard pressed to either get my permission or find a reason that he feels justifies a search. There will be no drugs in the vehicle, so it will be impossible for him to claim he smelled marijuanna. What should I say to the officer should he ask to search the vehicle?

[jk]

What should I say to the officer should he ask to search the vehicle?

unless you have a warrant or probable cause to search my vehicle I will have to politely decline to allow such an action.


or, as they tell the kids in school: just say no.

and stick to it.

[Michaelbilson]

y eI would tell him I am a student planning on working for the ACLU and .....NO. Whats your probable cause officer?

The way officers ask suspects is meant to garner a "yes" response....it often goes something like this....."YOU dont have any drugs or weapons in the vehicle do you sir" ? "Well then, if you have nothing, then you would not mind us taking a quick look then would you"..? Always say here is my license and my insurance....and as long as you are not drinking and the car does not smell of weed...then NO...you may not. In some states...they will even make you wait until the "drug dog" comes by for a sniff of your car to try and obtain probable cause.

[PTPD22]

I would tell him I am a student planning on working for the ACLU and .....NO. Whats your probable cause officer?

That statement is prima facie probable cause for a drug search all by itself, isn't it? LOL...just kidding.

Seriously, though, it is best to avoid confrontational or provocative statements or actions. Just say, "No, I am not willing to give you consent to search my vehicle." If the cops press, try to shame you into consent, threaten a warrant, etc., just tell them, "I will not resist you, but I am refusing consent to search my vehicle." If the cops search anyway, they will have the burden of showing circumstances providing a legal justification for a warrantless search. The place to deal with that is in court, not there on the side of the road. If you resist or otherwise interfere, not only are you risking the incident escalating to the point someone gets physically hurt, you may be criminally charged even if the search is ultimately found to be unreasonable.

Obviously, my advice is don't drink or possess alcohol until you are of age to do so legally. However, you apparently have already made that choice and, just as apparently, are fully aware that getting busted will have negative consequences that could affect your life in a variety of ways. That choice is yours and I won't preach. However, I urge you to please be safe. Be conscious of the fact that alcohol impairs your judgment. So, you need to double and triple think any decisions you (or your buddies) make while drinking...decisions to drive, decisions to let you mouth run freely in front of the wannabe banger that just might have a real gun in the car, decisions to reenact your favorite scene in "jackass,"...you get the idea.

[jk]

T.

Seriously, though, it is best to avoid confrontational or provocative statements or actions. Just say, "No, I am not willing to give you consent to search my vehicle." If the cops press, try to shame you into consent, threaten a warrant, etc., just tell them, "I will not resist you, but I am refusing consent to search my vehicle." If the cops search anyway, they will have the burden of showing circumstances providing a legal justification for a warrantless search. The place to deal with that is in court, not there on the side of the road. If you resist or otherwise interfere, not only are you risking the incident escalating to the point someone gets physically hurt, you may be criminally charged even if the search is ultimately found to be unreasonable.
.

excellent advice.


I am curious:

don't they sell whatever kind of booze you are carrying with you in Florida?

I would think it a foolish risk to carry this with you through how ever many strange states you will pass through. There isn't much worse than ol' Sheriff Buford going "Imma gonna have to lock you boys up for a spell for transporting alkyhol in my county" while his deputy stands by snickering and going "yup, you ain't gonna like jail in our county." and not being able to call anybody close for help.

If you think all those stories about strange happenings in isolated counties in the south were just stories or only in times long ago, you may be in for a big surprise. Some places in the south seem to stay isolated enough to escape the parade of time.