Illegal search and seizure?So I was smoking a joint with a friend at a park when two guys parked in the pking?

Question

lot and started walking towards. we put out the joint. They both had shaved heads and were dressed in street clothes, and asked us about smoking, saying they could smell it from far away. At first we said we hadn’t been smoking. Then they asked us to stand up, and it’s at that point we asked them if they were cops and they both showed us their badges and said yes. Neither of us had any marijuana on us except for the small remnants of the joint the cops found under my friends shoe. They proceeded to search us and found nothing else. Then one cop looked at my keys on the ground and asked me which car was mine, and asked me if I had any other marijuana in my car, and said theyhad ‘probable cause’ to search my car, even though we weren't near it, the doors were locked, and the screen in the back of my SUV was covered. I said there might be. The cops went to my car and found roughly 6 grams of marijuana in the very back, and citetd me for posession of less than an ounce. Illegal search?

Answer 1

2 problems with what you did... 1.) You told them that that was your car, if you didn't say that was your car, you could have avoided the next question which was... 2.) They can say they have 'probable cause' but can't actually search anything unless they have a serious legitimate cause for search and seizure, which you gave up your rights to when you "said there might be." I'm just going on what you've written here, but it doesn't sound too good my friend. Good luck!

Answer 2

Smelling like an illegal substance well falls into the category of probable cause. Then knowing you arrived at your destination in your vehicle, and that the vehicle had held marijuana, it extends the probable cause to your car, as it is an extension of your person in this situation. I would say you got off lucky that they did not wait around for you to drive off then cite you for DWI as well. Also, I know it is not technically a big deal, but when you reek like bud, and the cop obviously knows it, telling them you haven't smoked is insulting. I will give an example, if you are pulled over for a traffic stop, and asked to step out of the vehicle and the cop says he smells marijuana on you, it is probable cause to search it, because just like the clothes you are wearing at the time, the car is just a possible a place for that marijuana to be. All be it this was not a traffic stop, he knows you were in your car with at least that joint, so it makes sense that there could very well be more in there.

Answer 3

Yes.

You and your friend were in public place.
They saw the both of you smoking before you put out the joint.
Even the police don't confuse a joint with an apple.
Marijuana has a very distinct smell.
They had probable cause for a search.
When you told him there might be you basically indicated that there was more in the vehicle.

With this small amount and if this is you first arrest, you will probably be better off just pleading guilty.

Answer 4

They have plenty of evidence. You said you didn't put it out until they started to get out and walk toward you... They could have been circling the block, or just seen you as they were coming into the parking lot. Then him having it under his shoe confirms to them, that it was you that had it.

After they catch you with it on yourself, they legally can search your car. They'd still need a warrant to go into your house. If you wouldn't have told them it was your car, they couldn't have searched it until after they'd run the plates through headquarters and they came back on one of you....

If it's your first time, they generally go kind've easy on you... after that not so much. But to answer your question, it was not an illegal search, they had probable cause to go into the car...


And one other thing... if they wouldn't have found the joint that you had on you, they would've needed to call a K9 Unit, to search the outside of the car, before they could actually go into the car.

Answer 5

Probable cause means that a reasonable person in the shoes of the cops would perceive that you likely had just committed a crime (in this messed up country where smoking pot is a crime). It sounds like they had probable cause, based on the remnants they found and what they'd previously seen/smelled from across the lot.

Answer 6

Were you planning on driving on the public streets after getting stoned? They saw your keys and knew you would be endangering others on the road. Sounds like probably cause to me.

Answer 7

you had illegal substance within your vicinity, giving them probable cause. not to mention that if you told him where your vehicle was, you basically gave him acceptance for a search. you don't have to give that information if you don't want to. just don't expect the cop to go easy on you if you decide to go that route. you shouldn't have been smoking anyway.

Answer 8

If you get a decent attorney, they might get that thrown out. It hedges on the very edge of improper. It is technically proper if they had an "articulable suspicion" that you had drugs in your vehicle. However, do yourself a favor and don't talk to ANYONE about this. If you do, it can jeopardize your case. Speak with your attorney.

Answer 9

You should get a lawyer but you did provide them with probable cause and now it will take a lawyer to keep you out of jail.

Answer 10

no its not cops are alloud to search anything that they think might have some potential danger or evidence or anything they might be looking for
quit smoking joints its illegal so stop it can kill you it can drive you nuts you need help