Unlawful Search and Seizure: Your Fourth Amendment Right

The Fourth Amendment protects against unlawful searches and seizures. Despite this, countless citizens have been subjected to searches without suspicion.  Many of you are unaware of how much authority a police officer has, which in turn, allows them to get away with more than they should. More times than not, many of you believe if an officers asks you to do something you feel as if you HAVE to say yes. I am here to tell you that in some situations you can say no.

Saying no is not illegal

Let’s say you are driving to work one morning and you notice that you are getting pulled over. When the officer approaches the driver side of the vehicle they will ask you “do you know why I stopped you?” First of all, never admit to anything; my advice to you is say “no I do not.” The reason for this is because many times you may think it was because of speeding or not using your turn signal. However, the officer could have stopped you for a taillight out, but now he can also site you for unsafe lane change due to your admission of guilt. In some cases the officer will ask you “do you have anything illegal in the car I should know about?” In situations such as this the proper answer is “NO”, which usually leads to the officer’s next question, “do you mind if I search the vehicle?” Here is where most of you go wrong! You are well within your rights to say no. If the officer did in fact stop you for a taillight out then he has no reasonable suspicion to believe you have something illegal in your vehicle which is why he is asking you to search versus telling you to step out of the vehicle. If you grant the officer permission and he does find something then you can be charged for that crime. If the officer makes you step out of the vehicle even though he has no probable cause for search and finds something illegal then you are protected under unlawful search and seizer and you should contact an Phoenix Criminal Attorney today.

Here is where things get tricky. If you grant an officer permission to search the vehicle, he is only allowed to search the passenger compartment of that vehicle (this pertains to all areas of the vehicle excluding the trunk); he is not allowed to search the trunk. For an officer to get access to the trunk of a vehicle he needs one of the following:

·    Permission from the driver of the vehicle

·    A search warrant

·    Imminent circumstances ( i.e. your vehicle matches the description of a robbery that just took place)

·    Or if your vehicle is being towed for due to a crime (i.e. DUI). An officer is required to do what is called a vehicle inventory before the car is towed away to protect himself and the agency he works for from unlawful damages or missing items.

So the next time an officer asks to search your vehicle and they have no probable cause to do so don’t be afraid to say no. It is your Constitutional right as a United States Citizen!