When a police officer points out your vehicle to pull over at any place, especially at a DUI checkpoint, your interaction with him/her should be brief, and then you will be free to go. However, in other cases, your interaction with the officer can make him/her want to search your vehicle. If the police ask to search your car, it already means he/she doesn't have a search warrant to do.

An encounter with the law enforcement officers can be intimidating and confusing, but you have a legal right to decline the warrantless search. Unless the officer has probable cause to search or you are under arrest, it will be unlawful if he/she searches your vehicle without a warrant.

Knowing what to do in advance when the police want to search your car can help you protect your constitutional rights when you are in that kind of situation in the future.

Relationship Between Fourth Amendment of the Constitution and Car Searches by the Police

Generally, the Fourth Amendment of the constitution protects every citizen against unreasonable and unlawful search and seizure on your person or property, including a house, a bag, or a vehicle, because of privacy expectations.

While the Fourth Amendment of the constitution protects you against unreasonable and unlawful search, it is not a guarantee against all types of search and seizure. Unlike your home where a search and seizure would be unreasonable without a warrant due to privacy concerns, the same concerns are not extended to drivers who are pulled over.

That means, even if a police officer approaches you without a warrant, he/she has the authority to search your car as long as he/she has probable cause to do so.

Police signaling your car to pull over due to a traffic infraction or a broken taillight is not enough reason to give him or her a reason to search your vehicle. For a police officer to search your vehicle warrantless, he/she must have probable cause to believe that you are responsible for a crime, your car has contrabands or any crucial evidence related to any crime, for example:

  • Your breath smells of marijuana or alcohol.
  • Your eyes look bloodshot or red.
  • Your car and model match a particular description of a vehicle involved in a crime, like a bank robbery.
  • You are in possession of a weapon they reasonably believe may be used against them.

Dealing With the Police When They Want to Search Your Vehicle

Anytime police officers select your vehicle to pull over, you should do so safely and cautiously to make them believe you are a trained and cautious driver. Since you don't know whether the officer may find probable cause to search your vehicle or not, you should ensure all your essential documents are within your reach, including:

  • The insurance and registration
  • Your driving license

When you begin searching every compartment of your vehicle for the above type of documents when the police ask for them can make him/her suspect that you might be drunk driving or under the influence of other illegal drugs. In that case, your actions may give him/her probable cause to search your vehicle and seize any incriminating evidence he/she finds, even if he/she did not intend to do so.

In most cases, a police officer will have no time to request a warrant to search your vehicle, so in that kind of situation, he/she will ask you for permission to search your vehicle. If you grant him/her the permission to do so, you will forfeit your protection rights against unreasonable search from the Fourth Amendment of the constitution.

The best step to take when the police want to search your car is to remain calm and silent. If the police officer requests you to step out of your vehicle, you should do so and cooperate because any aggressive behavior can heighten the prosecutor's case against you.

The officer may ask you more questions, like "do you smoke marijuana?" to find more probable cause to initiate an arrest. If you answer "yes" to that kind of question, the officer will use that against you. However, remember, you don't have to answer any of the officer's tricky questions during that time because the constitution protects you against self-incrimination.

Remain silent and don't say anything if the officer continues to ask more questions and insists on speaking to an attorney because you may not want to give any incriminating information unknowingly.

If you don't have the contact information of any reliable defense attorney to call immediately, you should call a friend or relative for a quick recommendation of any reliable attorney. Looking for a criminal defense attorney without recommendations from friends, acquaintances, relatives, or any other person who has had experience with a defense attorney in the past can be challenging.

Seeking recommendations of a reliable attorney in your area of residence can help you narrow down many criminal attorneys' choices available in this industry full of mediocre experts without proper credentials.

Suppose the officer finds and seizes any incriminating evidence in your car after the search, and you didn't consent to the search. In that case, your attorney should strive to convince the judge that this particular evidence against you is inadmissible because the arresting officer did an unlawful search in your car.

Even if the arresting officer seizes a firearm for allegedly killing someone, the prosecutor cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you are liable for the offense if the firearm evidence against you was due to an unlawful search.

Beware, the court will not consider the evidence against you inadmissible if the search was lawful. A search in your car can be legal under the following circumstances:

  • You are under arrest for violating any criminal statute, for example, drunk driving under Vehicle Code 23152(a)
  • The police had a valid search warrant.
  • The police had your consent to conduct the search
  • You were under arrest, and the arresting officers had to impound your car

Typically, circumstances or events necessitating the officer to select your vehicle to stop will determine if he/she will search your car or not and how far he/she can proceed with the search. Keep reading this article to learn how your attorney can suppress every evidence the prosecutor has against you that resulted from an unlawful search of your car.

An experienced criminal attorney will know whether the police had the legal authority to search your car or not and strive to fight for the best possible verdict for the alleged offense.

How to Counter the Evidence Against You Following an Unlawful Search by the Police in Your Car

Winning a case involving unlawful search and seizure is a bit challenging. However, with the help of your defense attorney, you might be able to convince the judge to suppress the prosecutor's illegal evidence against you for an alternative, less severe charge or dismiss the case entirely.

To do that, your attorney must file a motion to suppress that evidence before your alleged criminal case trial. Depending on whether your alleged offense is a misdemeanor or felony, your attorney can file a motion to suppress illegal evidence against you during your case's preliminary or pretrial hearing.

Typically, your preliminary hearing, also commonly known as prelim, will happen about ten days after the arraignment hearing if your attorney finds it would be in your favor to enter a plea of "not guilty." Pleading not guilty to a criminal allegation or charge means you are ready to challenge your case in a judge or jury trial, which turns out to be a brilliant idea most of the time.

The goal of this preliminary hearing is to establish whether the prosecutor has adequate and viable evidence against you before your case trial, which can result in unforeseen penalties.

While you can choose to waive your legal right to a preliminary hearing, you might not want to do so if there is illegal evidence against you arising from the unlawful search in your car by the police. Below are possible pretrial motions your defense attorney is eligible to request to counter or suppress illegal evidence arising from the unlawful search of your car by the police:

Motion to Suppress the Evidence (Penal Code 1538.5 PC)

Often known as suppression motion, a motion to suppress evidence under PC 1538.5 is a chance your attorney has to convince the judge to exclude the evidence in your case that was due to an unlawful search by the police. When the judge grants this motion under PC 1538.5, the prosecutor will not have the authority to present that particular evidence in question during your case's trial.

If that is the case, the judge may drop the case or reduce it to an alternative, less severe charge with less severe consequences. The question of who carries the evidentiary burden of proof under PC 1538.5 depends on whether the alleged search and seizure were lawful or not.

Suppose the arresting officers didn't have the warrant to search your car to obtain the evidence against you. In that case, the prosecutor must prove to the judge beyond a reasonable doubt that the search and seizure were lawful and reasonable for the evidence to count against you during the alleged charge trial.

On the other hand, if the police had a warrant to search your car, meaning it was legal and reasonable, it will be upon your defense attorney to prove to the judge that it wasn't using a preponderance of the evidence.

Once the judge hears both the prosecutor's and your attorney's evidentiary argument, he or she may choose to admit or exclude the controversial evidence in the case against you in favor of your motion under PC 1538.5.

Motion to Dismiss Under Penal Code 995 PC

According to PC 995, you are also eligible to request a motion to suppress or a "motion to set aside information," as most people refer to it, to convince the judge to dismiss part of the complaints/charges against you, if not all. It is reasonable and makes sense to file a motion to suppress under PC 995 if any of the following is true in the alleged criminal case against you:

  • There wasn't probable cause to arrest and charge you with the alleged criminal offense.
  • There was a violation of your constitutional rights during the preliminary hearing. For instance, you were not aware you have the right to have a defense attorney by your side.
  • The prosecutor has insufficient evidence against you

The purpose of filing this pretrial motion to suppress under PC 995 is to "weed out" unsupported or groundless charges. Your criminal defense attorney will present his/her evidence or argument first, then the prosecutor. Often your defense attorney will have the chance to make the final defense argument.

The court proceeding for this motion to suppress does not take more than one hour, and the judge will make a judgment on your case immediately, considering both the prosecutor's and your attorney's argument.

The judge will consider the alleged criminal charge against you to be groundless if any of the facts mentioned above is true. If that is the case, he/she will grant your motion to set aside information and dismiss the affected charges against you or the entire case.

That means the jury cannot use the alleged groundless charges against you, even for special circumstances or sentencing enhancement during the trial, if the prosecutor is relentless to continue with the underlying charge.

A Pitchess Motion

If the search in your car or the arrest resulted from police misconduct which is not uncommon in some cases, your attorney could raise this motion doing the case preliminary hearing. A Pitchess motion is typically a request to access the arresting officer's personnel file to find if there is any possible evidence of police misconduct in the past, for example:

  • Racial profiling — This would be possible if the unlawful search in your car or the arrest by the officers after following a stop at a DUI checkpoint were due to your skin color, race, or ethnicity
  • Planting evidence — Sometimes, police can violate your constitutional right during a search in your car by planting a piece of incriminating evidence that was not in your car initially
  • Coerced Confessions — This happens when the arresting officer uses force or intimidation so that their criminal suspect can confess to some incriminating information or evidence. Your attorney can request a Pitchess motion to see if the arresting officer has a misconduct history related to the use of threats against their suspect to speak before an arrest or during interrogation.

If you believe the search of your car and the alleged charge is a result of any of the above types of police misconduct, your attorney can request a Pitchess motion to see the arresting officer's personnel file. The arresting officer's personnel file is crucial in determining if he/she has a pattern of misconduct in the past, according to Senate Bill 1421.

Your defense attorney can file any of the above pretrial motions to counter any illegal evidence against you resulting from an unlawful search in your car to counter criminal allegations against you for the best possible outcome.

When the judgment of any of the above motions turns out against you, the evidence resulting from the search in your car by the arresting officer will remain admissible in the subsequent court proceeding, the trial. Your attorney should prepare adequate legal defense arguments to present during your case trial to counter criminal charges against you for a less harsh charge or dismissal of the case.

The most common criminal charge that may arise from a police stop on the highway and unlawful search in your car is driving under the influence (DUI), which is illegal under section (a) and (b) of Vehicle Code 23152.

Depending on your unique case facts and circumstances, your defense attorney can request either a judge or jurors to decide the outcome or verdict of the case. The legal procedure for a trial under a judge or jurors is similar, although a judge/bench trial is a little less formal and reasonably brief than a jury trial.

Unless you have to testify during the trial, your presence is unnecessary if you have a skilled criminal defense attorney to represent your interests and fight for your legal rights. The sentence you might serve for the alleged crime when you lose the trial hearing will depend on the sophistication of the charge and the aggravating factors surrounding the case, such as:

  • Your past criminal record
  • A passenger child under 14 if you are guilty of DUI

Find a Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney Near Me

Reliable attorneys at The LA Criminal Defense Law Firm can help you understand what to do when the police want to search your car in any situation because you have a legal right to unlawful search and seizure.

Call us now at 310-935-1675 to discuss your case with our understanding attorneys for an outstanding legal representation to counter any illegal evidence against you for the best possible outcome in the alleged charge.