Vehicle search consent?

[TMF]

Cops do stuff all the time just because people are ignorant of their rights. They can ask to search your car. But how many times does a cop say "Do you mind if I search your car. Keep in mind you don't have to say yes" No! 4th Amendment gets trampled on all the time. If a cop could articulate a probable cause, they would not have to ask. Right?

I don't see how an officer asking to search and a citizen consenting to search is "trampling" all over the 4th Amendment. The officer is ASKING. If the citizen interprets that as a demand then it's their fault for not knowing their rights. I have no problem with consenting to search other than the inconvenience. The 4th Amendment isn't there as a guideline for citizens, it's there as a guideline for the Government. So, it is my right to allow a search just as much as it is my right to say "no". The only time the 4th Amendment is "trampled" on is if an officer searches without consent. To say that a consent to search is someone giving up their 4th Amendment rights is to say that someone who doesn't own a firearm is giving up their 2nd Amendment rights.

[Pain103]

If you don't want them to search say no. If you want to allow them to search then say yes. Why are people getting bent out of shape because some people allow it and some people don't? How long will this thread go on I believe the original question was answered.

[Dolomite_supafly]

I have never been asked by any officer if he could search my vehicle. When I was younger & trusted & respected most officers because they deserved & earned it I wouldn't have thought twice about saying yes. Now days not 100% sure but I doubt I would consent to any search. In my local area I find the LEOs to be generally good to deal with but still don't think I would just consent to a search.

Now to be clear I have nothing to hide what so ever since I don't Steal, Drink, Smoke or do drugs. I even avoid medically needed prescriptions because I prefer not to take anything.

It is sad but we are heading for a time where we have no rights to refuse Government Harassment & are Guilty until proven innocent.

Also before you consent be-aware it is considered acceptable for LEOs to Bold Face "LIE" to you about anything.

They are not required to tell you the truth at anytime during an investigation. They can say anything at all so long as it forwards the investigation. They can lie and make all the promises they want but unless it is written down it means nothing.

You would be surprised what LE can actually do.

I have seen people held for 48 hours without a call, attorney or outside contact during an investigation. They would be interviewed within the first couple of hours and then locked in a holding cell for the next 3 days without any further contact with anyone including investigators. They were not booked into the system so they wouldn't show up in the population of the jail. Then as the time got close to 72 hours the investigators would walk them out to the street and release them. During this time family members would call to report a missing person after they had called all the local hospitals looking for them. We couldn't let them know their family member was in custody.

Dolomite

[Guest 6.8 AR]

it is real, i am an over the roadtruck driver andi have had to deal with them once already, i have been told they were in the terminal in memphis looking though trucks and trailers there 2 weeks ago though i do not know if it is fact or fiction.

and 6.8 ar it is not that i am "rolling over" my cdl is my life every thing i do in a vechile is recorded and time is money, i deal with cops atleast once a moth or more weather they are city county state dot tsa boarder ect.... i have only refused 3 times ever.

My response was not meant to be an affront to you, specifically, but as a response to the words that are becoming acceptable by more and more people everyday. There are plenty of folks who do "roll over" when it is not necessary and sometimes can end up detrimental. Cops are human and that means they can be good or bad like the rest of us.

I would never disrespect any of them, but I will always assert my Constitutional rights, if it is not already obvious.

A polite respectful conversation between a law abiding citizen and a police officer probably won't end up in a confrontation, so be polite when asserting your rights. If a cop has probable cause, like DaveTN stated earlier, he doesn't need to ask.

I wonder if there's a connection between Haslam's former affiliation with MAIG and this TSA crap. what do you think OS? Make any sense?

I have never had a bad experience with LEO while being stopped, so I hope no one thinks I am bashing them. That would be quite immature.

Edited November 16, 2011 by 6.8 AR

[daddyo]

It simply amazes me that some folks have so little regard for the constitutional rights their forefathers fought and DIED for.

If a LEO stops me for a traffic violation, and asks to search my vehicle without probable cause, the polite answer will be NO.

[oldmustangjunkie]

You guys are missing out on a golden opportunity here:

Each time I've had a cop ask to search, I've replied: "I'll let you search if you agree to let me off with a warning." I can only count one time where I was actually searched. I guess that wasn't the answer they were looking for. I've always got off with a warning even when the cop declined to search after my proposition.

[G27]

You guys are missing out on a golden opportunity here:

Each time I've had a cop ask to search, I've replied: "I'll let you search if you agree to let me off with a warning." I can only count one time where I was actually searched. I guess that wasn't the answer they were looking for. I've always got off with a warning even when the cop declined to search after my proposition.

That's genius.

[Clod Stomper]

That's genius.

Except that they can legally lie to you.

[Guest Baron]

Lets go to the top...by looking at the countries top cop..

Would you consent to him searching your vehicle? And before some wise guy answers, this is assuming your not transporting weapons to Mexican drug lords.

Edited November 17, 2011 by Baron

[G27]

Except that they can legally lie to you.

OK, then not so much. I'll stick with my 'no thanks'...

[Guest lostpass]

Well he has the requisite cop stache....

[Oh Shoot]

Would you consent to him searching your vehicle? And before some wise guy answers, this is assuming your not transporting weapons to Mexican drug lords.

If I were doing that, it would likely be with his help.

- OS

[Guest crotalus01]

I have never consented to a search and I never will - for good reason. About 8 years ago, my MOM gave me an old beater car that she had had for years. The dashboard lights were out so I took it to my brother-in-laws so we could trace a short in the wiring and get them working. Well, my brother-in-law got on the passenger side and reached up under the dash to get at a wiring harness, and as he was feeling around he says "huh". And pulls out a pocket knife. He reaches back up in the same area and pulls out....a bag of cocaine!

Turns out my mom let me stepfathers son drive the car "a few times" and I guess he and his buddies got to partying one night and forgot where they stashed their nose candy. Even though the bag was obviously old that would have been a for sure trip to jail, processing, bail, a lawyer and a boatload of $$$$.....

[Patton]

I have never consented to a search and I never will - for good reason. About 8 years ago, my MOM gave me an old beater car that she had had for years. The dashboard lights were out so I took it to my brother-in-laws so we could trace a short in the wiring and get them working. Well, my brother-in-law got on the passenger side and reached up under the dash to get at a wiring harness, and as he was feeling around he says "huh". And pulls out a pocket knife. He reaches back up in the same area and pulls out....a bag of cocaine!

Turns out my mom let me stepfathers son drive the car "a few times" and I guess he and his buddies got to partying one night and forgot where they stashed their nose candy. Even though the bag was obviously old that would have been a for sure trip to jail, processing, bail, a lawyer and a boatload of $$$$.....

A dog would have found that easier than a cop. When the dog hits there tearing that car apart until they find what the dog hit on.

[Ramjo]

I refused once so they brought a stinky dog to sniff my car. I sat forever waiting on the stupid dog, then they ran him around 50 times trying to get him to smell something that DID NOT EXIST. After the whole ordeal I got a verbal warning for loud music and was sent away. So I guess if you refuse, they can still hassle you for at least 45 more minutes.

That's what I thought. When I was 18, I had an incident with some redneck washington county cops. I consented because I didn't want them bringing a dog and have to wait.

As to the rest of the story, it was 1 am on Halloween and yes I was dumb enough to be out that night. I topped a hill and 2 cars had someone pulled over, and I had some dumbass to my left who wouldn't move out of my way...i slowed down he slowed down, so I couldn't move over. Well, ended up I get pulled over for not moving over. Officer comes to the window, says my car smells like pot and that my eyes were bloodshot and made me get out and searched my car and made me walk the line, count my fingers etc. Course, my eyes probably were bloodshot cause it was 1 am and I was tired, but I certainly was not high or drunk. I had 4 police cars and 7 police harassing me for 45 min or so. I would continue on about the court fiasco and ultimately good ending but ya'll probably bored with this now anyway. After all this tho, I hate police.