Most people are at least somewhat aware of their rights if law enforcement officers show up at their door and want to search their home. They know that police typically need their permission to come in and search unless they have a search warrant.
When people are in their vehicles, things get a little fuzzier. Searches and seizures involving vehicles weren’t addressed in the U.S. Constitution since vehicles as we know them today didn’t exist.
What has SCOTUS determined?
The U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS), however, has used its rulings in various cases over the years to bring some clarity around Americans’ rights when it comes to searches of their vehicles – for example, at traffic stops. SCOTUS has determined that people don’t have the same rights when it comes to vehicle searches for a couple of key reasons:
- People don’t have the same expectations of privacy in their vehicles as in their homes.
- People can generally easily drive away from the scene, taking any evidence of criminal activity with them.
That doesn’t mean police can just pull over a vehicle for no good reason and demand to search it. They must have “probable cause” that they’ll find evidence of a crime – like illegal drugs or weapons or stolen items.
Why the “automobile exception” may not apply
The New Jersey Supreme Court has weighed in on the matter in some cases as well. As recently as this year, the court determined that police didn’t have the right to a warrantless search of a car that had been taken to a police impound lot while the driver was in custody.
The court noted that there was no risk of the car going anywhere, as there would have been at a traffic stop. Therefore, the “automobile exception” recognized under federal and state law didn’t apply. The court determined that this exception only applied “to on-scene warrantless searches.”
It can be difficult to remember and effectively assert your rights – let alone know the intricacies of the law – if you find yourself under questioning and arrest. That’s just one reason it’s important to get legal representation as soon as possible to protect your rights.