In Indiana, officers generally need either probable cause, valid consent, or a
recognized exception to the warrant requirement to lawfully search a vehicle.
The police have probable cause when they make specific observations that
would make a reasonable person believe the car contains evidence of a crime. The
most common observation that leads officers to search a car is the odor of marijuana.
Any criminal attorney with experience would agree that it is the most commonly cited
reason by police officers. A good example is someone who robs a store and gets into a
vehicle with a bunch of stolen merchandise. A worker at the store calls police and
specifically identifies the vehicle, including a license plate number, and police stop the
vehicle moments later. Based on that information, a reasonable person would believe
that there is evidence of the robbery (the stolen merchandise), in the vehicle.
Police don’t need to get a warrant due to what is called the “automobile
exception” to the warrant requirement. Unlike a house, which usually requires a warrant,
vehicles are mobile and evidence contained within could easily disappear. An additional
factor is the expectation of privacy. Your expectation of privacy in your vehicle, on a
public roadway, is much lower than your home. These two considerations are primarily
why courts have determined officers don’t need a warrant for your vehicle.
That is not to say that an officer’s determination of probable cause cannot be
challenged and examined by a judge. If contraband is found and a criminal case is filed,
an attorney can file what is called a “motion to suppress”, which requires the state to
justify the search to the court. It cannot be justified by what was found in the search. It
can only be justified by examining the information available to the officer prior the
search of the vehicle, and if that information would have led a reasonable person to
believe that the vehicle would contain evidence of a crime.
There are a few other legal avenues by which an officer can search a car. If a
vehicle must be towed, then officers conduct an “inventory search”. The purpose of this
is to document what is in the car to ensure all of your belongings are still in the car when
you get it out of the tow yard. However, many defense attorneys this is a bit of a “fox in
the henhouse”. This reason is justified as a protection for the owner of a vehicle. The
point is to protect their property. In reality, it has been used as a work around to search
a car officers otherwise would not be able to search.
Officers can also search a car if the owner of the vehicle consents to a search.
Sometimes people voluntarily agree to allow officers to search their vehicle. Some
people just don’t mind, while others think that being cooperative will help them get away
with a minor crime. If they’re cooperative with the officer, maybe the officer will work with
them. Whatever the reason, once consent is given, the officer doesn’t have to justify the search at all. It could allow the officer to search a vehicle that they otherwise would not
have been able to search.
While there are some other nuanced reasons to search a vehicle, these are by
far the most common. If you are facing criminal charges, call the attorneys at Banks and
Brower immediately. If we can find a legal basis to suppress a search of a vehicle, it can
result in an entire case being dismissed. Every case is different, but the attorneys at
Banks and Brower have won cases that way multiple times. Our office number is 317-870-0019 and our criminal defense attorneys are on standby 24/7, ready to assist you when you need it!
