Search consent?

First of all, I have nothing to worry about any time a police officer pulls me over because I'm not hiding anything. If I done nothing wrong, the officer has no right to search my vehicle. If the officer says, well then you must have something to hide or you would let me search, I would politely refuse. Because, under the Constitution of the United States, I respect my right to privacy, unless there was probable cause for the officer to search my vehicle. It doesn't mean I'm hiding anything, It's just a privacy issue. Otherwise, what would keep police officers from searching anybody and everybody that they ever wanted to for any old reason at any time. The courts give me the right to refuse unless I've given rise to some suspicious behaviors and even then an officer needs a very good cause to make it stand up in court. The police, would prefer, you give consent to search, that way the courts will say, you gave the consent to search. There are many cases where searches by police officers have violated a persons Fourth Amendment. And many of those cases have ended up in court where the person was awarded monetary values by the court. I know the police have a job to do but too many officers today push the law beyond what is reasonable and right. Unfortunately, most people just go along, because of an intimidation issue. And this gives rise to an even worsening reputation of police and we don't need that because we need police officers to protect and serve. It's a double edge sword sometimes. Just remember, because a police officer asks you for a search doesn't mean you have to agree to that search. He may just be testing the waters.

Well, it could be anything actually. Depending on why the officer was there in the first place, perhaps he saw something that was out of place or, unusual for the circumstances. Or, again depending on why he or she was there, perhaps for some reason there were wh seemed to be inconsistencies in statements provided by noe or more other persons involved in the incident or investigation. In either of these cisrcumstances, the officer would be obligated to make every effort to invetigate further to ascertain what the totality of a situation is and one step to doing that is to examine the area around you. Another reason would be, and again this is epending on why he or she was there to begin wiht, the officer does not know you and you do not know the officer. Searching the immediate area, i.e. car, home where ever is a matter of safety...to ensure there are no weapons or other offensive items ( to include evidence of any crime) within immediate control of others on scene that could cause harm.

The Police can ask for consent to search even if they have no particular reason to believe their is contraband in the car (or property).

On traffic stops I will occasionally have a driver who is showing some red flags (i.e. inconsistent story, acting nervous, etc.). I sometimes ask for consent to search the vehicle.

I don't just walk up to a house at random and ask the occupants if I can search it. However, sometimes people call the Police and claim their neighbors are doing something illegal (i.e. selling drugs, running a prostitution ring, smuggling uranium to the North Koreans, dealing in Black Market organs, etc). In those cases you don't have enough for a search warrant but sometimes Officers will simply go to the house and explain why they are there and ask for consent.

Just because I ask to search your car or house doesn't mean I think you have a dead hooker hidden somewhere. I might just be curious because of something you said or did.

By the way, if I have probable cause to search your vehicle I'm not even going to bother to ask for consent. I'm just going to search your car based on the Carroll Doctrine (Carroll v. United States). I'll be nice about it and explain why I'm doing what I'm doing but I'm not going to give you a choice.

Carroll v United States:

http://supreme.justia.com/us/267/132/case.html

When you are stopped by a police you have the right to say no when they ask to search your vehicle, person, or house. If they are asking to search they are doing so to find evidence. Even if you believe you have none, don't give up your rights. Many people forget they have certain things in their car,( liquor, things that could be perceived as a weapon,etc.), and end up in more trouble than they bargained for.

Police can search when they feel there is a "probable cause", (visible weapon,drugs,smell of liquor, etc.), and unfortunately sometimes, (not all), there is no probable cause but searches are still done under this clause. Always aware of your rights.

Here are some links that further explain your rights:

http://www.expertlaw.com/library/criminal/police_s...

http://public.findlaw.com/traffic-ticket-violation...

http://www.legalzoom.com/legal-articles/article147...

The little "consent" game is because not all Americans know their rights. It's psychologically clever, and it is ethically questionable.

I don't need to "justify" my refusal to consent to a cop because my refusal is legal. The person who needs to justify his actions is the cop who is breaking the greatest law in the land -- the US Constitution.