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  1. #1
    guitar703 Guest

    Default Do The Police Need To Ask Before Searching A Car

    i already posted about this story. but this question never really got answered.


    ok. so last month i got stop for 'crossing over the lines'.

    pretty much they caught me leaving this kids house whos a known drug dealer.

    anyways.

    the officer comes back to give me the ticket which is a warning-prolly cause i never crossed any line! how nice of him

    then asks me to step out of the car.

    right there i know this was more than just a normal stop. hes talking to me for a minute about stuff saying the computers are down while these other undercovers start to pull up.

    next thing i know
    theres a dog going in and out of my car. never asked to search. no warrent. never said anything. just did.

    also. the car is registered under my parents. is there also something about how they would need the approval of my parents even if they asked to search?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
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    5,437

    Default Re: Don't They Need To Atleast Ask First?

    Q: is there also something about how they would need the approval of my parents even if they asked to search?

    A: No.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
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    1

    Default Re: Don't They Need To Atleast Ask First?

    so leaving the drug dealer's house constitutes probable cause? I've seen "Busted" a zillion times (if you haven't - guitar703 - look into it, it's put out by the ACLU, called "Busted: A Citizen's Guide to Surviving Police Encounters") and I thought that they indeed need to ask before they search (unless they have probable cause). "I do not consent to any searches". Maybe it's different state-to-state.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
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    5,437

    Default Re: Don't They Need To Atleast Ask First?

    Quote Quoting guitar703
    View Post
    i already posted about this story. but this question never really got answered.


    ok. so last month i got stop for 'crossing over the lines'.

    pretty much they caught me leaving this kids house whos a known drug dealer.

    anyways.

    the officer comes back to give me the ticket which is a warning-prolly cause i never crossed any line! how nice of him

    then asks me to step out of the car.

    right there i know this was more than just a normal stop. hes talking to me for a minute about stuff saying the computers are down while these other undercovers start to pull up.

    next thing i know
    theres a dog going in and out of my car. never asked to search. no warrent. never said anything. just did.

    also. the car is registered under my parents. is there also something about how they would need the approval of my parents even if they asked to search?
    Where do you see a search in these facts?

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Florida
    Posts
    435

    Default Re: Don't They Need To Atleast Ask First?

    the dog is a method to get probable cause, the dog sniffing around your car does not constitute an unlawful search so long as they have reasonable suspicion, which probably came from you leaving a drug dealers house.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
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    California
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    20,594

    Default Re: Don't They Need To Atleast Ask First?

    Quote Quoting guitar703
    View Post
    ok. so last month i got stop for 'crossing over the lines'.
    I assume that means you were driving and you crossed the center line in the road? Yes, this is a violation.

    pretty much they caught me leaving this kids house whos a known drug dealer.
    Don't hang out with "known drug dealers".

    the officer comes back to give me the ticket which is a warning-prolly cause i never crossed any line! how nice of him
    So ... you're saying the officer lied? You never did cross the line?

    then asks me to step out of the car.

    right there i know this was more than just a normal stop. hes talking to me for a minute about stuff saying the computers are down while these other undercovers start to pull up.
    Yes, the police can ask you to step out of a car when they are issuing you a citation or even a warning.

    next thing i know theres a dog going in and out of my car. never asked to search. no warrent. never said anything. just did.
    Running a dog IN to your car without consent, probable cause, or your being on searchable probation or parole could be a problem. Running the dog around the OUTSIDE of the car is not a search so long as the detention was not unusually prolonged.

    also. the car is registered under my parents. is there also something about how they would need the approval of my parents even if they asked to search?
    No. The person in control of the vehicle is the person who can give consent.

    I take it then, you gave consent? Or, when asked you did not object?

    What did the police find? If they found dope as a result of the dog in the car, then your attorney can make a motion to suppress that evidence by alleging an unlawful search. The police would then have to articulate their good cause for the search and seizure of the dope.

    I don't see where you mention your state, but where this occurred could have a bearing on whether it is legal or not as state and federal laws do vary somewhat by region as a result of differing court decisions and interpretations.

    If this were CA, then tossing the dog IN to the car absent good cause or consent could be a big problem. Leaving the home of a "known drug dealer" does not grant the right to search a car ... generally. There ARE exceptions to this, but the police woul dhave to articulate this good cause if they want to introduce the evidence.

    If there was no evidence seized, then you can certainly complain to the employing agency about the action of the officers.

    - Carl

  7. #7
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    Michigan
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    Default Re: Don't They Need To Atleast Ask First?

    I suspect that the police will indicate that the dog alerted to the presence of drugs before it was allowed to enter the vehicle.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
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    California
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    Default Re: Don't They Need To Atleast Ask First?

    Quote Quoting aaron
    View Post
    I suspect that the police will indicate that the dog alerted to the presence of drugs before it was allowed to enter the vehicle.
    Very likely. For the sake of the state's case, hopefully that is what happened.

    - Carl

  9. #9
    guitar703 Guest

    Default Re: Do The Police Need To Ask Before Searching A Car

    im sorry. let me be more clear. it seems as tho they saw me leaving said dealers house. they pulled me about 5 miles away. wasn't followed. but they seemed like they knew i was there.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    California
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    Default Re: Do The Police Need To Ask Before Searching A Car

    Quote Quoting guitar703
    View Post
    im sorry. let me be more clear. it seems as tho they saw me leaving said dealers house. they pulled me about 5 miles away. wasn't followed. but they seemed like they knew i was there.
    What it "seems" to be is irrelevant ... what will be at issue will be whether the stop was lawful. The courts have long ruled that the subjective reason for the stop is generally irrelevant (unless the ONLY reason for the stop was because of your being part of a protected class of person). So long as the cause for the stop was good, and the justification for the search is seen as lawful, then all will be good in the city.

    - Carl

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