Chapter 8 Motor Vehicle stops, searches, and inventories

what can police do after a stop: order passengers to get out of vehicle maryland v. wilson

- can be required to get out of car whether or not the officer is concerned about safety

what can police do after a stop: may arrest if probable cause developes

- if driver is arrested for speeding and officer senses danger, frisks and finds a weapon, the officer can arrest the driver

what can police do after a stop: search the passenger compartment for weapons-

- if officer has reasonable suspicion that the individual in dangerous - search should be limited to areas in the passenger compartment

automatic searches during traffic citations are unconstitutional

- issuance of a citation does not justify a full-blown search was ruled unconstitutional

what can police do after a stop: question the drivers and passengers Berkemer v. McCarty

- once a valid stop is made, officers can question driver and passenger without giving miranda rights - routine traffic stop, not an arrest, does not count as interrogation - they don't have to respond

to requirements for a vehicle search

- probable cause must be present; reasonable suspicion is not sufficient - the vehicle must be mobile, meaning capable of being driven away at any time

what can police do after a stop: require a breathalyzer test

- refusal leads to suspension and sometimes jail time

what can police do after a stop: seize items in plain view

- seizure established probable cause, which justifies an arrest - ex: someone gets pulled over for speeding and the officer sees contraband, they can get arrested

warrantless vehicle searches are constitutional if

- the officer had probable cause for the search - the vehicle is mobile, meaning it can be drive away at anytime

Other Motor Vehicle Search and Seizure issues: Motor homes are automobiles for purposes of the Fourth Amendment and are therefore subject to the automobile exception. - Only if motor home is capable of being driven on the road and not in a residential area

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■ The temporary detention of a motorist based on probable cause to believe that he or she has violated a traffic law is valid, even if a reasonable officer would not have stopped the motorist in the absence of some other law enforcement objective

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Once a driver has been arrested, the police may conduct a warrantless search of the passenger compartment of the car, the trunk and all receptacles and packages if...

- As long as it may reasonably be thought to contain something that might be dangerous or hold evidence related to the offense for which the suspect has been arrested - Police may search a container located in a car without a search warrant even though they lack probable cause to search the car as a whole and have probable cause to believe only that the container itself contains contraband or evidence

the automobile exceptions to search warrant

1. The mobility of motor vehicles often makes obtaining a judicial warrant impractical. 2. A diminished expectation of privacy surrounds the automobile. 3. A car is used for transportation, not as a residence or a repository of personal effects. 4. The car's occupants and contents travel in plain view. 5. Automobiles are necessarily highly regulated by the government.

Automobile Exception

An exception to the warrant requirement holding that police do not need warrants to search automobiles, just probable cause.

cases in which the vehicle itself has been the subject of a crime

An officer who has probable cause to believe that a car has been the subject of burglary, tampering, or theft may make a limited warrantless entry and investigation of those areas that are reasonably believed to contain evidence of ownership.

accident cases

Sometimes, because of an accident or other circumstances, a car must remain in a location where it is vulnerable to theft or intrusion by vandals. If the police have probable cause to believe that the vehicle contains a weapon or a similar device that would constitute a danger if it fell into the wrong hands, they may make a warrantless search for the particular item

belton decision

allows the police to conduct a search incident to arrest of the passenger compartment of a vehicle even after the driver had been arrested and secured in a police vehicle

consent searches do not require that detainnees

be advised that they are free to leave

what can police do after a stop: order driver to get out of the vehicle PA vs mimms

can conduct protective frisk if officer reasonable believes driver is armed/dangerous

roadblocks are unconstitutional if used to

detect criminal wrongdoing

what can police do after a stop: ask the driver to produce required documents

ex: driver's license, proof of insurance, registration justification: driving is a privilege not a right

officers are ___in what they can do after making a stop

limited

are immigration and border searches, particularly of motor vehicles protected by the fourth amendment

no, -Border patrol agents don't need to have reasonable suspicion or probable cause to stop, search, and seize.

to search a vehicle do you need a warrant? probable cause?

no. Yes or consent

to do inventory of a vehicle do you need a warrant? probable cause?

no. no but must be guided by department policy

to stop a vehicle do you need a warrant? Probable cause?

no. no but you need reasonable uspicion

traffic stops that are only ___ for vehicle searches are valid

pretexts

officers must have___ that the occupants are involved in criminal activity before making a stop

reasonable suspicion

which stop is exempt from reasonable suspicion

roadblocks, they just need justification

Once a vehicle is stopped the officer may order the driver and passengers to get out, even without

suspecting criminal activity

the reasonable suspicion to stop a vehicle is based on

the totality of the circumstances

inventory search

to protect the police form being accused of stealing something and the chance that there is something dangerous in the car

passengers are also seized in traffic stops t/f

true

t/f : ■ Vehicle stops and searches are two separate acts and are governed by different rules.

true

arresting occupants for non-jailable offenses is

valid

pretextual stops

valid stop used as pretext to search a vehicle - if they are actually looking for something else due to suspecting something

what can police do after a stop: locate and examine the VIN

vehicle identification number

even if there is probable cause, a __ is needed to search a immobilized vehicle

warrant

because the vehicle stop is less intrusive neither a ____ or ___ is required - motorist is not fully protected by the fourth amendment

warrant or probable cause

Other Motor Vehicle Search and Seizure issues: If probable cause exists to stop and search an automobile, can the officer take the automobile to the police station and search it there without a warrant. - Even if there is time to get one and automobile is no longer mobile

yes

Cases in which the vehicle is believed abandoned

■ A limited search of an automobile in an effort to ascertain ownership is allowable when the car has apparently been abandoned or when the arrested driver is possibly not the owner and does not otherwise resolve the matter of ownership. ■ If you throw something out you can't tell someone they can't take it

what can police do after a stop:

■ Search the vehicle if probable cause is established - Colorado v. Bannister ■ Search passengers' belongings - Wyoming v. Houghton - w/ probable cause ■ May arrest for a nonjailable offense - Atwater v. City of Lago Vista - Arrested for not wearing a seatbelt ■ May search based on consent alone - Officer does not need to inform the defendant that he or she is free to leave for a consent to search to be valid

takeaways

■ The most important rule is that law enforcement officers must have reasonable suspicion that the occupants are involved in criminal activity before making a stop. ■ Roadblocks are an exception to the reasonable suspicion rule. ■ Officers are limited in what they can do after making a stop. ■ Traffic stops that are only pretexts for vehicle searches are valid. ■ Consent searches do not require that detainees be advised that they are free to leave. ■ Arresting occupants for non-jailable offenses is valid. ■ Passengers can be arrested during a stop.

circumstances that may justify warrantless car searches include

1. accident cases 2. cases in which the vehicle itself has been the subject of a crime 3. cases in which the vehicle is believed abandoned

Warrantless inventory searches of the person and possessions of arrested individuals are permissible under the Fourth Amendment. Two prerequisites for a valid search

1. police must follow standardized procedures. ( to eliminate their uncontrolled discretion to determine the scope of the search) 2. there must be no bad faith (inventory search must not be used as an excuse for a warrantless search)

five types of road blocks:

1. sobriety checkpoints- stop every vehicle 2. to control the flow of illegal alliens 3. to check for a driver's license and vehicle registration are constitutional 4. b/c of a hit and run accident to detect criminal wrongdoing

what is considered justification for a roadblock stop

Holidays (NYE), public safety checks

__ occurs every time a motor vehicle has stopped

a seizure