When can the police search without a warrant?

Question

When can the police search your car, or your home without a search warrant? They search your vehicle when you're being arrested, right? What kind of probable cause is needed to search a house or vehicle without a warrant?

Answer 1

A car can be searched without a warrant:

1.  search incident to arrest

2.  consent

3.  inventory (after impoundment)

4.  probable cause, based on articulable facts, to believe the vehicle has contraband in it

5.  exigent circumstances

A house can be searched without a warrant:

1.  consent (written is better, but oral consent can be enough)

2.  exigent circumstances (chasing someone or belief that evidence will be destroyed)

3.  protective sweep (can only be done incident to arrest to look in places where a weapon my be or to check to see if other people are a threat to the police)

Probable cause to search exists when the totality of the circumstances allow a conclusion that there is a fair probability of finding contraband or evidence at a particular location.

Answer 2

Without a warrant? only for probable cause or exigent circumstances.  Ah! and with consent, but never give consent.

Anything other than those is grounds for filing illegal search.  In traffic stops, see State V. Chapman, 332 N.J.Super. 452 (App.Div. 2000): http://www.geocities.com/njspba35/casela...

Answer 3

When you are stopped, the police officer can do a cursory search of you and your vehicle for possible weapons, see Terry vs. Ohio.

They can then do a full search of your car when you are arrested.

As to the house.  If they can see something illegal in plain sight, they may seize that and secure the house so that they can obtain a search warrant for the rest of the house.  That is, unless there are emergency circumstances that exist.  These would include a danger to the rest of the area (meth lab) or the possibility that the evidence would not still be there during the application of the warrant.

Answer 4

When they see something "in plain view"  i.e. stuff that you shouldn't have in the first place , crack cocaine, crack pipe, explosives vest, wires coming out........detonator

Answer 5

These 4 instances is the onylt ime anything can be searched

1. Exogent circumstance(emergency)

2. Search warrant

3. Incident to law full arrest

4. Consent

Answer 6

Well like a vehicle if you say no that they can't search it without a court order then can impound your vehicle and then go to the judge and get what they need to do this.. I'd say it would be the same with a house..