Stopped by Police? Know Your 4th Amendment Rights!

One of the most important protections guaranteed by the United States Constitution is the Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. However, if one is not aware of such rights, the protections it offers will often not be realized. This is often the case when a motorist is pulled over by a police officer and questioned.

The most important thing to remember is that you NEVER have to give permission to an officer to search anything. Police officers will often “ask” if you mind if they take a look at something in such a way that implies they will do it anyway, and receiving your permission is just a formality. If you say “yes,” then you have just surrendered one of your most important rights! Even if you don’t believe they will find anything illegal, you never know what your buddy might have left in the backseat the night before. Don’t ever let an officer search your person, vehicle or anything else by giving them permission!

For a law enforcement official to search any of your property, they must have significant justification to do so. This can be provided by a search warrant. If an officer does have a search warrant, ask to inspect it before allowing the officer to search anything. A search can also be conducted when an officer has probable cause to believe that such a search will find evidence of illegal activity. This standard is slightly relaxed, however, for a search of your vehicle. In that situation, the officer must only show a “reasonable suspicion.”

If a search of your property has turned up evidence of illegal activity, the officer must show specific evidence that gave rise to show probable cause or reasonable suspicion. An experienced attorney can challenge these findings as failing to give rise to such justification. A successful Fourth Amendment challenge will result in the evidence being thrown out, and probably the case as well!

However, if you have given permission to the officer to perform the search, no such justification is necessary. Therefore, remember to NEVER give permission to an officer to perform any search.

If you have been stopped by law enforcement and you believe you may have been searched illegally, you should contact criminal defense attorney Scott R. Ball today. An evaluation of your case is completely confidential and always free.