The Fourth Amendment o the United States Constitution protects you from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government and police. This right has been dutifully protected and highly valued since the founding of our nation. Over time, the law has adapted to include private spaces that may not have existed at the Constitution’s inception. Vehicles are protected from unreasonable searches and seizures, but not always in the same way a person’s home is protected.
Generally, the police need a search warrant before they conduct a search. This warrant requirement is par for the course for most encounters with the police. However, vehicles are unique because they are mobile, so any evidence of a crime inside a car can be easily moved and lost. Because a vehicle is moveable property, the police may only need probable cause instead of a warrant to perform a search. How the police gather the necessary probable cause to search your vehicle will depend on the circumstances of your stop.
If the police searched your vehicle after being pulled over for a traffic violation, there is a chance that the search was unlawful. If the police did not have a warrant and the circumstances did not permit a warrantless search, any evidence seized by the police can be suppressed. Contact our Atlantic City search and seizure defense lawyers for help. Call the Law Offices of John J. Zarych at (609) 616-4956 to schedule a private legal consultation free of charge.
Vehicle Searches by Police After a Traffic Stop in New Jersey
Generally, the police must have a warrant to search your vehicle after a routine traffic stop. They may only search without a warrant if they meet certain exceptions. While traffic stops can be intimidating experiences, the police must follow strict legal procedures when they pull a driver over. For example, the police must have a valid reason for the stop, such as a moving violation, and cannot stop anyone based on arbitrary reasons. They must also keep stops to a reasonable time limit. The police cannot hold a driver at a stop for a long time in the hope of drumming up a reason to search their vehicle.
The police will ask drivers for consent to search their vehicle, which helps them circumvent the warrant requirement. Even consent searches may be limited. Under State v. Carty, the police need to have some reasonable and articulate suspicion that you are involved in criminal activity or there is evidence of a crime inside your vehicle to ask for consent to search your vehicle. This was decided in 2002 by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.
Without a warrant, the police need your consent before conducting a search. However, exigent or emergency circumstances may also permit the police to conduct warrantless searches. Emergency or exigent circumstances are usually situations in which the police officer believes that the evidence may be lost or destroyed if they wait for a warrant. It also includes instances where the officer’s safety or the safety of others is at risk. This may apply in cases where the officer believes a person has hidden dangerous weapons in their vehicle.
If the police recently searched your vehicle at a traffic stop, you should discuss your case with our Atlantic City criminal defense attorneys. It is possible that your search was unlawful.
Circumstances Where New Jersey Police May Conduct a Warrantless Search of Your Vehicle
While warrants are generally required before any search or seizure by the police, some circumstances allow warrantless searches. A warrant is meant to protect people from unjust overreach by the police. However, there may be situations where other important factors, like fleeting evidence or officer safety, outweigh the driver’s interest in privacy. You can discuss your case with our New Jersey search and seizure defense lawyers.
Consent
Any need for a search warrant is waived if the driver of the vehicle consents to the search. However, police hold a lot of authority, and sometimes consent is not always clear. People often consent to searches not because they want to, but because they feel like they cannot say “no” to a police officer. This is why the above-mentioned restrictions on consent searches were put in place. The police may ask for consent to search your car at a traffic stop, but only if they have reasonable and articulable suspicion that you committed a crime or have evidence in the vehicle.
Emergencies
Not every traffic stop is routine. Sometimes the situation can become dangerous for the driver, passengers, or the officer. If the officer believes there is a safety risk, they may search the vehicle to neutralize that risk. This kind of search is common when the officer thinks the driver has dangerous weapons in the car. An officer may also conduct a warrantless search if they believe there is evidence of a crime in the vehicle that will be lost if they do not act immediately. Waiting for a warrant may lead to lost evidence.
Incident to Arrest
A police officer may search your vehicle after arresting you at a traffic stop, but only areas of the vehicle where you had immediate access. For example, if the police stop a driver who is clearly high on drugs, they may arrest them and search the vehicle for the drugs. However, they could only search places within reach of the driver, like the front seat and glove box, not the trunk.
After Your Vehicle is Impounded
In many traffic stops, the driver may be detained by the police and their car impounded. Once a car has been impounded, it may be lawfully searched. The search is less about finding evidence or contraband and more about taking inventory of the car. However, if the evidence is found during the search, it can be seized. Call our Atlantic County criminal defense lawyers for more information about warrant exceptions.
If Your Vehicle was Searched After a Traffic Stop, Call Our New Jersey Search and Seizure Defense Attorneys
You are constitutionally protected from unreasonable searches and seizures by the police. Discuss the events of your vehicle search with our team of experienced Cape May criminal defense attorneys. Call the Law Offices of John J. Zarych at (609) 616-4956 to schedule a free and private legal consultation today.
