Plain View Searches of Vehicles

Lawful Stops

Police officers may make a valid stop of a vehicle if they have probable cause to sustain a search and seizure. That means that they must have probable cause to make an arrest.

Police officers may also lawfully stop a vehicle if they have a reasonable suspicion that criminal activity is afoot and can state the reasons for their suspicion. Such a stop is called an investigative stop. The scope of the permissible search, without a warrant, is limited to:

• A protective search of the interior of the passenger compartment if the officer reasonably believes that the suspect, whether driver or passenger, is dangerous and may get immediate control of weapons, or
• A temporary detention of the occupants for investigative purposes

Another basis justifying the stop of a vehicle is a violation of traffic laws. The permissible scope of the search is limited to a request for the driver's license, registration and insurance card.

Searches Subsequent to Motorist Stops

Most searches made subsequent to a motorist stop are made without police officers obtaining a search warrant. The legitimacy of evidence found by a police officer in the officer's warrantless search of a vehicle depends on the validity of the officer's stop of the motorist and on the facts of the situation, which may permit the officers to search the vehicle without a search warrant. Exigent (or emergency) circumstances allow the officer to ignore the warrant requirement. The lack of a warrant requirement shows that an individual's expectation of privacy with respect to a vehicle is much less than with respect to a home or an office.

Evidence "In Plain View" During Stop

If police officers have lawfully stopped a vehicle, the officers can seize evidence that is in plain view in the vehicle. The evidence is usually admissible in court proceedings.

The question of whether the evidence is admissible turns on whether the officer ''has a right to be in the position'' to see such evidence. For example, if a defendant exits his vehicle and then expresses a desire to return to the vehicle to shut off the lights and close the door, a police officer can return to the car in the defendant's place. If the officer then sees contraband, he has a right to be in the position from which he sees the contraband. The officer's action is an appropriate safety measure because if the defendant was allowed to return to the car, he could:

• Flee the scene
• Secure a weapon from the as yet unsearched interior of the car, or
• Destroy or hide illegal drugs or weapons

Also, an officer who enters a vehicle at the scene of an accident in order to assist in the exchange of motor vehicle ownership and insurance information has lawfully entered the defendant's vehicle. Thus, the evidence observed in plain view is admissible at trial. Even where the police officer ''moves around'' in order to see what is in plain view, no unreasonable breach of a defendant's legitimate expectation of privacy will be found.

The use of a flashlight by a police officer to light what would otherwise be hidden by darkness is not important when determining whether the officer's actions were proper. If the evidence would have been in plain view in daylight, shining a flashlight on it in darkness does not constitute an unreasonable search.

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