ABA Family Legal Guide

Automobiles

Your Automobile and the Police

The Search

Suppose a police officer sees a packet of marijuana on the backseat?

Again, the law is always changing; if you find yourself in this situation, you should contact a lawyer without delay. When the police can see evidence readily from a place in which they have a right to be, the law generally does not consider it a search. Rather, it is a plain-view seizure. As long as the officer has a legitimate reason to be standing by the car and easily sees what the officer has probable cause to believe is evidence of a crime, the officer can make the seizure. Then the officer could probably conduct a warrantless search of the rest of the passenger compartment of the vehicle and possibly the trunk (if probable cause exists to believe the trunk may contain evidence).