if you get pulled over and the police ask you if they can search your car and you say no?

Question

are they then allowed to say that you have just given them probable cause and search it anyway?

Answer 1

they do it all the time in Texas, but they should have a better reason

Answer 2

My uncle is a deputy DA and he says that if an officer ever asks to search your car tell him no. He doesnt say this because he doesnt trusts cops. He said to say no because they have no right searching anything of yours without probable cause. If an officer has probable cause then they probably arent going to ask your permission. Refusing to give permission is NOT probable cause. The Constitution straight out says that you cant self incriminate yourself and an assumption of guilt based on a refusal to allow a search violates your Constitutional rights. I love police officers and have every bit of respect for them, but there is just no reason to allow an officer to search your car just because he wants to.

Answer 3

Your claim to your constitutional rights are not "probable cause".

Geeze, I hope that no officer pulled a stunt like that on you.

If you get pulled over for a traffic violation and the officer asks to search the car, and you refuse; there are a couple things the officer can do. He can detain you for a reasonable amount of time while he investigates you and the car. He can run checks on you, your license, the car, its registration. If he finds violations, your car can be impounded. He can inspect your vehicle for various safety or regulatory violations. If he finds them he can cite the vehicle as unsafe to drive and again impound it. He can hold you there until the drug dog shows up to sniff the car. If the dog alerts, that is probable cause for a search.

Unless, somehow, the officer feels you are really trying to hide something illegal, he is not going to go through all of that. He is going to shrug, wish you a nice day, send you on your way, and pop the next drug transporting scumbag.

Answer 4

NO!

But they can impound the vehicle, and when a vehicle is impounded they do a full inventory for your safety.

Aside from the patriot act, they cannot search the trunk of your car without your permission, they have to impound it.

They need your permission to search inside unless they already see or smell something, or if you already broke a law.

The best policy is to be very nice so they won't bother searching you.

Similarly, a separate warrant is needed to search a safe, which doesn't apply to the premisses clause. A secret the rich use to hid their dirt.

Answer 5

If you say NO, then the officer will likely call the K9 unit and have the dog sniff the air around the vehicle. If the dog reacts to something, then that give the officer a probable cause to search your vehicle without your consent.

Answer 6

They will search your car anyway , it will just take them a little bit longer. That whole probable cause is a thing of the past .

Answer 7

If they want to search your car they are going to find a way, with or without your permission. They probably already have probably cause when they ask you.

Edit: lol. Probable, that is.

Answer 8

At least here in Missouri, if you tell them no they will typically arrest you (if they have charges or you have warrants) and search your car incident to arrest. They also have to inventory your vehicle before they tow it. So if you say no, be sure they don't have any charges on you. Most of them aren't going to arrest you for a speeding ticket, unless they really think there is something you are hiding in your vehicle.

Answer 9

Hmmm...an MP3 participant, a drink (iced tea), some books, a field interior the lower back with automobile stuff (oil, hearth extinguisher, first help equipment, flashlight, flares, and so on), a pair of ratchet straps, a GPS, some aspirin, a notepad, my diabetes/allergic reaction equipment (glucagon and epi-pens), a cellular telephone and me. i think of that's approximately it. EMT Oh...and a bounce equipment for emergencies. As an EMT, I won't bypass by skill of an emergency. i visit constantly provide up as i'm experienced and authorized to cope with them till an ambulance can arrive on scene.

Answer 10

yes you can refuse but then they can hold you while they get a search warrant to search. they would have to have good reason to get this.

in order to search with probable cause they would have to have a reason like evidence in plain sight

Answer 11

you have the right to refuse but i think they were trying to pass a law to where police did not need permission to check your vehicle or your house on suspicion