I was wondering if anybody had any up-to-date knowledge since the Patriot Act about a cop pulling you over for something minor like speeding, tail light etc. and then asking if he can search your car? What happens if you say no? Can he have your car impounded, take you to jail until he get a warrant without probable cause or do they just make something up to justify it and lie? Also, a guy I know got pulled over and had $2,000 in a bag (no dope in car) and they confiscated it. What’s up with that?
They can’t legally do any of that stuff if they are asking permission for a search. The 4th amendment protects you from searches without probable cause, and if you don’t consent to the search and she doesn’t have reasonable suspicion to believe that there is something in the car to search, the officer can’t - legally - arrest you or anything, and anything found would be thrown out in a courtroom.
The $2,000 in cash was probably snagged because it looks a lot like drug money, but there are zillions of possibilities and it is impossible to speculate.
Yeah, because “drug money” just has that certain “look” to it. Y’know, all green and with numbers and pictures of dead presidents on it.
Hey, WoodenTaco, your house and vehicle “looks” like it was bought with drug money. Time to surrender the goods to the cops!
That is indeed what is “supposed” to happen. In a perfect world, the cop would ask to search your vehicle, letting you know that you have the right to refuse. You would then refuse, he would cite you (or not) for whatever infraction he stopped you for and you’d both go merrilly on your way.
In reality, he’ll use his status as a police officer to intimidate you into compling with his search “request”. He might use the fact that you left your door open to pop in as he says something like: " you don’t mind if I look around, you don’t have anything to hide, do you?". Or he might use more direct intimidation techniques. He certainly won’t advice you of your rights, that’s for sure. You must be aware of them yourself.
Also, if he does eventually either intimidate you or down right violate your rights with an unlawful search, you can bet your ass he isn’t going to admit to it. He’ll lie, and unfortunately all a cop has to say is “I smelled Marijuana” or a myriad of other plausible things, and it’s your word against theirs, and good luck to you if it ever comes down to that.
Did he get it back?
-FrL-
What is likely to happen if you refuse is that they detain you on the side of the road for several hours (I know one person who was detained for three hours) until they can bring in a K-9 unit to sniff around the car.
What happens from there depends on the ethics and integrity of the officer. If you’re in the wrong jurisdiction and the officer is intent on busting you, he’s going to find a bag of weed in your car.