How to Challenge the Search of My Car

[uncleberney]

My question involves police conduct in the State of: New york. A few days ago me and my friends were out and I had drank earlier and later took about 6 benzos over 2 hours. My friends had a huge fight in front of my house and I had to break it all up. Later on because I was so ****ed up I said ok to go to there house and try to talk to her, not even to fight but just to talk about the crazy situation that just unfolded. Since we couldnt talk to her we left but were followed by one of her friends, and her friend proceeded to call the cops on us.

Now although that doesn't directly pertain to me it does lead up to us getting pulled over at the gas station. The cop asked me if I had been drinking, smoking, or doing and pills and of course I said no. He proceeded to give me a sobriety test, I blew a 0.00, he did the whole holding a pen with the flashlight in my eye and checking my coordination, the whole run down of walking nine steps in a straight line doing the stupid three step twirl and counting to whatever. I passed the test, not with flying colors but I passed.

This is where I am very confused and angry. They made everyone get out of the car took my friend who fought the other guy a few hours earlier to the side and talked to him, and immediately began searching my car. They didn't ask for consent and I can't see any probable cause for them to search my car I barely smoked any weed in that car all day and when i do the windows are always open so it doesn't even smell after. He came out after searching my friends bag and found her grinding with a very small amount of marijuana in it, and also found I believe a roach and a very small nug of marijuana which was of course pinned on me because I am the driver. Im sincerely asking for advice here, March this year I got a UPM on high school grounds it was an extremely small joint clip, it was probably all paper.. but because it was burned and because I was on school grounds it was moved to a Class-B Misdemeanor. This month I finally got it reduced to an ACD, so that's where my problem is. I won't just man up and take this UPM and the criminal charge I was accused of in March because I was searched by a cop who thinks he can do whatever he wants. If anyone can give me an idea as to how he would have had probably cause to search my car or how he did not please reply any advice is truely appreciated.

[Swarley]

You say your friends called the cops on you. Did they know you had drugs?

When they reported you, if they gave a description of your friends or your vehicle and said you had been involved in a fight or possessed drugs, then the officer had probably cause to detain you in connection with the allegations. Their call, plus the officers own observations of how you were acting (you said yourself you were "f***ed up") give him probable cause to search the vehicle further if he believed you were in possession. Also, I don't know if you realize this, but roaches and marijuana itself smell too - not just the smoke.

[uncleberney]

I know I've been smoking since I was 12, but I wasn't acting ****ed up once we got pulled over it was like 3AM and i popped the bars hours and hours before that I could talk straight and I didnt look or act like i was 6 bars deep, but I dont understand how they can just search MY car because of the people im with. Does that mean they did have the right or is that just an assumption? And I appreciate the prompt response.

[Mr. Knowitall]

I expect that the officer has a very different impression of your demeanor and of the smell of your car. Get the police report and let us know.

[cdwjava]

They can conduct a search based upon probable cause. You admit that you were f'd up and that you smoked marijuana in the car earlier. That stuff reeks ... you were messed up ... your friends might have admitted to drinking or seeing drugs or alcohol in the car ... and the cops can search if they had probable cause to believe there was contraband in the car.

Marijuana smells - even with the car windows open!

[Mr. Knowitall]

The police were also responding to a call about possible criminal activity; we don't have the details so we don't know what the allegations were or whether they might support or help support a search.

[PTPD22]

The police were also responding to a call about possible criminal activity; we don't have the details so we don't know what the allegations were or whether they might support or help support a search.

While all of that is true, I have a hard time thinking the cop didn't have more than ample PC for the search based on just OP's description of events.

1. OP states that he had been drinking in six different bars throughout the night and dropping six benzedrines. In spite of OP's to-be-expected claim that he "I passed the test, not with flying colors but I passed," I'm sure he showed more than ample signs of impairment. Since a breath test showed a far lower BAC than would account for the impairment, there is a strong reason to believe drugs were the cause. Use of drugs leads to a reasonable suspicion of drugs still being present.

2. Although OP doesn't say, I think it is a safe assumption that at least some of the "friends" accompanying him also showed visible symptoms of drug intoxication. This would lead to a reasonable suspicion that the party had been consuming drugs together, rather than separately, and further the suspicion that said drugs could be in the car.

3. OP's post indicates that there were three different sources of marijuana in the car - including presumably fresh grinder weed which would smell even more. In addition, OP admits that he smoked in the car earlier in the day and implies that he does so regularly. As anyone (except a chronic smoker - pun intended) knows, even cigarette smoke permeates upholstery, carpets, etc. and having the windows open does next to nothing to alleviate it. Marijuana is about 10 times worse in that regard. Because it has such a distinctive, readily recognizable smell, the smell of marijuana constitutes probable cause to believe that marijuana is present all by itself.

Take those all together and PC seems pretty obvious even without any presumptions about any accusations from the reporting "friends" or confessions from the companions in the car. Also, OP only mentions being charged with possession. However, it seems like the cop had ample PC to arrest for DUI - Drugs before the search. Presuming the cop made that arrest, then the car would be searched incident to the arrest for evidence of the crime arrested for...drugs.

[Mr. Knowitall]

I don't mean to suggest that the other stuff might not be sufficient. Just that there's another layer we don't yet know about.

[uncleberney]

I know my car didn't smell, we didn't smoke together and the grinder wasnt fresh we smoked like 14 hours earlier and that was all the bud i had so that was all we smoked i wasnt f'd up all day i know my car didnt smell like marijuana at the time. My friend got an open container ticket but I was talking straight and my coordination wasn't as bad as you think I was having conversations with the cop the whole time i wasnt acting like a moron.

My only friend that was acting faced was the one that blew a 0.021 on 7 bars, my other friend was more in control for sure, they called the police on us because of what happened earlier and my friend was arrested for that and went to county for two days until he posted bail. Im not saying im right I just want to get everything straight before I go to court in two weeks from what I've collected even if I dispute it, it's my word against theirs and obviously thats not going to stand up in court. I really dont think they had probable cause I remember what happened for the most part and it doesnt sound like that.

[Mr. Knowitall]

Smokers of all stripes never think that non-smokers can smell them, even when their breath, clothes, home and/or cars reek.

The police report says what?