The Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution, as well as Article 1 of the California Constitution, establishes the principle that all citizens have the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. Generally, this means that law enforcement must first get a valid search warrant before acting. However, case law has created numerous exceptions to the search warrant requirement and many are applicable when the place to be searched is a vehicle.
Warrant Searches of a Vehicle
Where a warrant is used to conduct a vehicle search, the police must provide a judge with an affidavit that indicates they are searching for evidence that a felony has been committed or a particular person has committed a felony. The warrant must describe with specificity the vehicle and the property to be seized.
Exception: Consent
If you agree to a request by the police to search your vehicle, you will not later be able to claim the search was unreasonable; consent negates the requirement of a warrant. However, an experienced Los Angeles criminal attorney will caution that the consent must be completely voluntary. Threat of force or police coercion of any form can negate the consent.
Additionally, if there is more than one person involved, your consent to search the vehicle may not be required. The owner of the vehicle or the person who was in control of the vehicle may be able to provide valid consent for a warrantless search.
The Vehicle Exception
Owing primarily to the fact that a vehicle is extremely mobile, an entire exception to the warrant requirement has been carved out for vehicles. Because a car could be gone before a warrant can be issued, police can legally stop and search a vehicle without consent or a warrant if they have probable cause to believe there is evidence of a crime in the vehicle. Probable cause may be in the form of reliable information, observations of the police officer or something that would justify the issuance of a warrant if one were required.
Other Exceptions
Other circumstances that may justify warrantless searches include:
- Vehicle searches incident to arrest
- Vehicle searches for weapons incident to lawful detention
- Inventory searches of vehicles that have been impounded after the driver’s arrest
Motion to Suppress
If the police failed to follow the law in conducting a warrantless search or inappropriately executed a warrant search, your Los Angeles criminal attorney may bring a PC 1538.5 motion to suppress the evidence obtained through illegal means.
