Car Searches in Drug Crime Cases
Many cases I defend in Los Angeles County and even federally are spawned from a car search. The police either pull a car over and get the person's permission to search or have probable cause to search because some informant has given them some information.
Whatever the case may be. They get into the person's vehicle, they search it, and they find drugs. That's probably the most common thing that you'll see.
Another significant car search issue as it relates to drug cases is when the police — especially when the federal government is wiretapping somebody — and they get information through the wiretap that a particular person is going to be moving drugs.
Police Stop for Traffic Violation
They zero in on the drugs and pull the person over for some traffic violation. Sometimes, the traffic violation is legitimate; sometimes, they make up something so they can pull the car over and get those drugs.
A lot of times, people are stupid and consent and say, sure, go ahead and search the car, even though they know they have a bunch of drugs in the vehicle.
Those people who are smart and say, no, you can't search the car; now the police have a problem.
They either lie about the person agreeing to search the car, or they make up something like they see the drugs in plain sight or they smell something.
But usually what I see them do, especially in these significant federal cases where they're ready, because they've done the wiretap, they've heard the information. They know they're going to get a lot of drugs to confirm their extensive investigation.
Using K-9 to Search for Drugs in Vehicle
They'll have someone pull them over—whether it's a trooper or police officer, whatever the case may be—and then they'll have a dog brought in, which will alert the dog to the drugs in the car.
Once that happens, they don't need the person's consent to search the car. Now, they're going to be green-lighted.
There's a case law that supports that if a dog alerts and indicates that there are drugs in the car, they're entitled to search the vehicle and seize those drugs.
Then you have to go backward and try to attack the stop and say that it was no good. The police can't just stop someone's vehicle for no reason.
They can't just stop it based on a suspicion or a hunch. They have to have some good information that gives them probable cause that they're going to find some drugs in that car.
If they have that, they may well have the argument to pull somebody's car over and search that particular vehicle.
Challenging Probable Cause in Drug Crime Cases
So, really, things depend on the circumstances and whether or not there's probable cause to search a vehicle. Usually, when it comes to car searches, we attack the stop first.
Then we attack the search, and then we might even attack whose drugs those are once they're found.
So, you never should give police consent to search your car, especially if you have drugs in it, because you give them the green light to get in there, and that's like the worst, most difficult thing to defend when somebody has given consent to the police to search the car.
Some people are even dumb enough to sign a consent form, and now you pretty much have given the police card Blanche to be able to search your entire car.
Even search your person, and now you put yourself in a position, if they find drugs, they're going to seize them, and they're going to charge you with them, and it's going to be very difficult to get out of the search in the car — whether it's a federal case or a state case.
When you come in, we'll go over everything step by step. With the discovery/paperwork in the case, any videos, and any other evidence we can gather, we'll be fully equipped to challenge the stop and search of your vehicle. This process empowers you with the knowledge and understanding of your rights.
Hedding Law Firm is a criminal defense law firm located in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles County, at 16000 Ventura Blvd #1208 Encino, CA 91436. We are committed to defending your rights. Call (213) 542-0979 for a free case evaluation and let us protect your rights.
