A while ago I was leaving a party with 5 of my friends, we got outside and a friend of ours pulled up in his car and we all got in, 4 in the back 2 in front. Right as we were about to drive away a cop rolled up and stopped us, I had weed on me and so did my other friend, we stuffed it under the seats. The cop came up and asked us what we had and shit and we said nothing, then he went away for a second and came back and was like, "I'm gonna give you one more chance do you have anything?" Then the driver said, "not that I know of." Is the cop able to use that to search the vehicle? Or is it reasonable cause cause we denied it at first?
the cop has absolutely no right to search your car without a search warrant, and you should absolutely stand up for your rights. Don't ever give them reasonable cause, and they can't use your denying it as so. They are trained specifically to intimidate people into letting them search their cars/houses/selves even though they don't have legal warrants to do so. In your case, I would have told the cop "No" when he asked if I had anything, and that's IT. Don't answer any more questions they have for you, they are trying to get you to say something that WILL give them reasonable cause. One time I got stopped, and after I had told him no twice, and told him that he did not have permission to search my car without a warrant, he said "well then we'll go get the search dogs, I'm sure you won't mind that". All I said was "Okay". Fifteen minutes later, he let me go. They aren't really gonna bring out the dogs, again, they just want to intimidate you. Your friend saying "not that I know of" if the same thing as "no", only that it's covering only him instead of everyone in the car. Just keep in mind that they CANNOT search anything without your consent. Even if they continue on to do so, keep stating that you do not consent with the search, and use it in court if it gets taken that far. Nothing seized on you, in your car, or in your house can be used against you in court if it was acquired illegally (i.e. without a legal warrant)
Unforunately, nobody really took interest in the thread I posted a few weeks ago... http://hipforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=149240 It addresses a lot of the shit like that, but no, that wasn't reasonable cause. The cop can lie to you and say that denying a search is reasonable cause, they are allowed to lie out their asses. If your ever confronted by a cop, make it absolutely clear that you do NOT consent to any searches right off the bat. If a cop were to start searching your car in your presence without first asking that is legal, however if you tell him you don't consent or at any time tell him to stop, he must (unless he has reasonable cause/search warrant) Also, the only thing your required to tell a police officer is your name, address, and one other minor piece of information I think that slips my mind right now. Always keep your mouth shut, be respectful, but at the same time make sure your rights are being upheld (make it clear you don't consent to any searches) I HIGHLY recommend you download bit-torrent (http://www.bittorrent.com/) it's a program that in a way is similar to kazaa/napster/ares/all those P2P programs. Then download the "Busted" video in the thread I mentioned at the start of this post. It's a video made by the ACLU that show situations that a stoner may find himself in when being confronted by the police and all the correct ways to go about dealing with an officer and your rights. Happyonehit just about nailed it, but the busted video is pretty informative as to ways to avoid a cop from getting reasonable cause or searching your car. Also, they DONT need a search warrant if they have reasonable cause. If they smell pot, there is something illegal in plain sight, somebody in the car has a warrant, if you were doing 15mph over the speed limit (I'm not sure if that applies to every state, but in Connecticut, 15mph + is wreckless driving and is reasonable cause for a search) stuff like that. Just be warned, a cop WILL lie to you to get a confession, to get a search and stuff like that. Some of the typical shit is like, just let us search your car and we'll take it easy on you, we know the judge, or denying a search is reasonable cause. The cop cannot help! He is not your friend and he is using whatever means neccesary to get you arrested within the law! Do not help him by submitting to his requests!!!!
Oh jesus, here we are again. People think cops are the devil and are out to get them at all times. Sure, dont get me wrong, cops lie and there are a LOT of asshole sons of bitches that I think could rot in hell out there but thats what they are trained to do in that kind of situation. In every situation besides those that involve stoners, I agree with cops for the most part when it comes to doing searches (only those with reasonable cause). I hate to hear people constantly bitching about cops... do you realize how worse our communities would be without them? I'm not gonna let one thing like weed gonna change my opinions towards cops... they enforce the rules, not make them. It's our government you need to focus your frustrations on..
I guess I just worded that wrong. I was just trying to make the point really strong that cops have a job to do, and they can and will lie to get that job done. I'm not one of those people who hate all cops and think they are scumbags. I just wanted to make it clear that when your in a situation where you can get arrested, but they don't have reasonable cause to search you, they will try to lie to you to find out what's in your car. I understand that for all they know you have a gun in there, you have 2 kilos of heroin, a dead body, or who knows what. I wasn't trying to come off as COPS BAD, I was just making the point that you need to take everything they say to you with a grain of salt when they are confronting in a situation like that. The same wouldn't apply if your just casually talking to a cop in a different situation. also, I think that most cops are generally good nice people, it's the minority of assholes that give the entire police force that reputation. edit: happyonehit, if they find something, your a criminal because of what they found. Our fifth amendment protects us from incriminating ourselves. You aren't obligated to answer any of the cops questions beyond your name address and something else
Yeah I know, its just I hear it way too much in the 'Busted' section and it just adds to the "Stoners are a bunch of cop-haters" image
every cop I've really been involved was nice to me, except a few select special ones, but, so I was nice back. If they treat me like shit, though, I almost always treat them the same way. But I do think cops abuse their power in negative ways, especially by being legally able to lie to get a confession, I think that's wrong. If we lie to them, and say 'no I do not have anything', and they find something, you are automatically labeled a criminal, but they can lie any way they feel necessary to get us to confess? Something's not right there...I don't HATE cops, but I don't trust them, either.
They don't need a search warrant to search your car if they have reasonable cause, i.e., they can see, smell or hear it. So, if I were pulled over, say what cause do you have to search, and then if he says none, you can say that he can search, but when he gets to a spot thats bad, just say stop there thats enough, they have to stop. But if he asks if he can search like your glove box, don't say its jammed. A cop friend of mine had that happen to him, and he said, "here, I'll give you a hand", he opens it and a bong or something was inside.
