How Much Of Your Property Can Police Search At A Traffic Stop?
If you are nervous about air travel, hiking, zip lining, or canoeing, people who are experienced in these activities will remind you that driving a car, which you do every day, is more dangerous. Things can go from normal to disastrous in an instant when you are driving, and not just if you get into a collision. Police can pull you over for a trivial reason, such as dark window tints, a broken taillight, expired tags, or an illegal lane change, and the next thing you know, you can be watching helplessly, your hands in handcuffs, as a K9 that would be adorable under any other circumstances sniffs all the contents of your car. Traffic stops are among the few situations where police can search your property without a warrant; they only need probable cause, and police have an endless repertoire of excuses for searching vehicles under the auspices of probable cause. Police can examine and confiscate almost anything from your car during a traffic stop, but they usually do not have the right to go through your smartphone. If you are facing drug distribution or drug trafficking charges because police overstepped their boundaries during a traffic stop, contact a Pittsburgh drug crime lawyer.
Police Cannot Open Apps on Your Phone During a Traffic Stop
The Fourth Amendment protects against search and seizure of private property by law enforcement, but police generally have the right to examine objects that are in plain view. Almost everyone who has operated a motor vehicle in 2024 has done so with a smartphone in plain view, but the average smartphone contains volumes of confidential information. Pursuant to the 2014 Supreme Court decision Riley v. California, police cannot search the contents of a cell phone without a warrant, not even at a traffic stop. They can look at what is on the screen, but they cannot open apps or scroll through hundreds of messages. They can, however, use evidence that they find at the traffic stop in an affidavit when requesting a search warrant to search your devices at a later date.
In the News
In May 2024, police pulled over a vehicle for mundane reasons; it was speeding, and its windows were tinted. When the car pulled over, police noticed that the driver, Christo Landburg-Parker, had a bag of marijuana in plain view. They also saw Landburg-Parker pour white powder out of the car and then pour water on it; the powder later tested positive as cocaine. Landburg-Parker, 37, is now facing charges for drug crimes and for tampering with evidence. The court denied him bail because of a history of failure to comply with the conditions of bail.
Contact Gary E. Gerson About Criminal Defense Cases
A criminal defense lawyer can help you if you are facing criminal charges for drug crimes after police searched your car during a routine traffic stop. Contact the law offices of Gary E. Gerson in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania about your case.
Sources:
wtaj.com/crime/psp-johnstown-man-resisted-arrest-poured-water-on-drugs-during-traffic-stop/
supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/573/373/
