Communism is here
The Associated Press reported that an Iowa state trooper pulled over Michael Spahlinger of Cleveland Heights, Ohio on Thursday. According to the story, the trooper pulled the vehicle over on Interstate 80 near Council Bluffs to perform a routine search and eventually discovered 48 pounds of pot.
Without getting into the whole drug debate, let's stick with the Constitutional issue, specifically the Fourth Amendment, which supposedly protects citizens from unreasonable search and seizure. The part of the story that bugs me is the phrase "routine search". As near as I can tell, any systematic searching of vehicles would be prohibited by the Constitution.
Fourth Amendment -- "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
In the years since this was written, the probable cause requirement has been somewhat weakened by the courts. A cop no longer needs probable cause of a crime to search your car without your consent. Now if an officer has reasonable suspicion that you may be armed and dangerous, he may do a weapons check without asking your permission.
Let's assume the trooper asked Michael Spahlinger if it'd be okay if he looked around. The Supreme Court has said that without reasonable suspicion, the trooper cannot demand to search the vehicle unless the driver consents. So at that point, Spahlinger could say simply that he doesn't consent to any searches.
At that point, the trooper either has to let Spahlinger get back on his merry way or call in a drug-sniffing dog within 20-30 minutes of the traffic stop.
For the most part, they've done away with road blocks for the purpose of detecting drugs, although they still get by with them for finding drunk drivers. But even then, cops would have to have a good reason for searching you or your car; they can't arbitrarily search anyone they feel like because they think they might find contraband.
Without getting into the whole drug debate, let's stick with the Constitutional issue, specifically the Fourth Amendment, which supposedly protects citizens from unreasonable search and seizure. The part of the story that bugs me is the phrase "routine search". As near as I can tell, any systematic searching of vehicles would be prohibited by the Constitution.
Fourth Amendment -- "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
In the years since this was written, the probable cause requirement has been somewhat weakened by the courts. A cop no longer needs probable cause of a crime to search your car without your consent. Now if an officer has reasonable suspicion that you may be armed and dangerous, he may do a weapons check without asking your permission.
Let's assume the trooper asked Michael Spahlinger if it'd be okay if he looked around. The Supreme Court has said that without reasonable suspicion, the trooper cannot demand to search the vehicle unless the driver consents. So at that point, Spahlinger could say simply that he doesn't consent to any searches.
At that point, the trooper either has to let Spahlinger get back on his merry way or call in a drug-sniffing dog within 20-30 minutes of the traffic stop.
For the most part, they've done away with road blocks for the purpose of detecting drugs, although they still get by with them for finding drunk drivers. But even then, cops would have to have a good reason for searching you or your car; they can't arbitrarily search anyone they feel like because they think they might find contraband.
I'm not an attorney, but I've studied the law and court cases regarding search & seizure issues as a hobby.
