Can The Cops Search Your Car If You Get Pulled Over?

Cops are allowed to search your car if they have probable cause to do so, and they don’t need a warrant.

Legal terms aren’t mathematical. “Probable cause” is broadly defined as “facts that would reasonably persuade an impartial and reasonable mind not merely to suspect or conjecture, but to believe that criminal activity has occurred․”

Whether or not there is probable cause will depend on the facts of your case.

It’s important to remain calm if you don’t believe there is probable cause. You can fight with words to a cop, but attempting to resist arrest because you believe you are being unconstitutionally searched or detained is not the solution and it’s not a legal remedy that you’ll win on.

Don’t yell or scream at the cop but you can assert certain constitutional protections. For example “I do not consent to a search,” “I do not consent to a search of my vehicle” and “I’d like to talk to my lawyer.”

What happens many times in an automobile search is this:

The cops don’t ask to search your car, they say “step aside, we’re just going to look around”

At that point, you should say “I don’t consent to a search of my car”

If the cops know they don’t have probable cause, they’ll back off.

To give you an idea about probable cause take two situations.

In one, you were speeding and they pull you over and that’s all they have on you. There is no probable cause to search your car because there’s no evidence you have anything illegal in your car.

In a second situation, imagine a cop sees you drive by firing a few shots from a pistol out of your window into the air.

There is probable cause to believe you have a gun in the car and they can search it.

The reason they don’t need a warrant is because cars can flee. The court carved out the automobile exception to a warrant because it would be unreasonable to expect cops to wait by your car until they were able to get a warrant approved by a judge.

Just remember, never consent to a search of your car. Even if you’re not doing anything wrong. You never know what the cops are looking for.

Maybe someone just robbed a gas station down the street and drove off in the same color and model car as you. The cops have info that the person stole cash and a Monster energy drink from the station.

They pull you over and you let them search your car. They find cash and an empty can of Monster…

Now there may be probable cause to arrest you even though you didn’t rob the gas station.

It’s important to be on high alert when confronted by a police officer.

However, as you may have learned, sometimes cops will let you off.

Though prudent legal advice would suggest that you NEVER speak to the cops, I’ll admit that every time I’ve ever been pulled over for speeding or for blowing a stop sign, I usually just patronize the cop and act super apologetic promising it won’t happen again. And the cop 9/10 has let me off. In fact, I’ve only been ticketed once and it was dropped in court.

That’s just me though, and that is not general legal advice but a personal anecdote.

The stakes weren’t too high for me considering I was sober and without any illegal weapons or drugs in my car when I was pulled over. So, I took the risk of admitting to the crimes of speeding or blowing the stop signs knowing the potential dangers.

I’m not saying admit to crimes, but if you’ve ever gotten off by being apologetic to a cop and it’s worked, don’t feel ashamed that you didn’t adopt the proper legal recommendation to remain silent.

Sometimes cops get pissed off if you give them too much trouble over something simple.

“Sir why did you only stop 2 seconds at the stop sign”

“I WANT MY LAWYER!!! YOU DON’T HAVE PROBABLE CAUSE”

“Sigh… Heres a ticket for $100 be more careful”

…ETC, you get the gist.

Again though, as a general piece of advice, remain silent.