• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

was my car subject to search w/out my consent

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

L

lilbitdvs

Guest
i was at a friends place of business to pick up his paperwork to do taxes. he was not there. when i was about to leave, police raided the place claiming to have a search warrant. They were looking for methamphetamines. They asked me why I was there and my relationship to the owner. I told them I was his tax preparer and was to meet owner there. They asked me if i'd ever been arrested, which i had been, for CA H&S 11377. (I completed the "drug court" program in 1997 for this charge.) They asked me to sit and get my id, the officer then asked if he could look in my purse because I replied that I had not been using Meth. I shrugged my shoulders as he was already looking through it. He then asked me which car was mine, I told him "the red car". He did not ask if he could look in my car and he took the keys out of my hand. Just as I thought they were going to let me go, another officer said that a small baggie with crank residue was found in the console of the car which Valtox tested positive. I claimed to have no knowledge of the baggie. After my purse was searched by two officers and inventoried, I was called into another room by a female officer who read my rights and recorded our conversation. I answered her honestly. when i returned to the other room, the cops were pissed because they said they found two syringes in the lining of my purse. I did not admit they were mine. I was booked on an 11377 and BP4140 and was bailed the next morning. My ?, was this a legal search of my car? If not, does that make the search of my purse illegal as well? I did not give consent to search the car but officer says I did, does it even matter? I may fall under the new prop 36 but unsure if my previous arrest will affect that due to graduation from "drug court"? This was in Sac, CA on 1/22/01

[Edited by lilbitdvs on 01-24-2001 at 06:28 AM]
 


L

lawrat

Guest
I am a law school graduate. What I offer is mere information, not to be construed as forming an attorney client relationship.

You gave them the keys to your car. As to your purse,he did ask you and you gave consent.

The only way I think you can fight it is to see if there was invalid warrant or if you were not a party listed.
 
L

lilbitdvs

Guest
another ? regarding this search warrant

My name is more than likely NOT mentioned in this warrant. I can't think of any reason it could have or would have been. Does that make a significant difference? Can a search warrant encompass anyone and everyone's vehicle as well as their person or does it have to specify?

Thanks for you're reply!

p.s. I revised my original question to clarify how the officer ended up with my car keys and purse.
 
L

lawrat

Guest
The warrant must specify the place to be searched and the items to be retrieved. I don't think it would really make a huge difference at this point if your name was listed or not.

Also, as to your purse, == were those syringes yours? If they DiD find in the lining of your purse, you are stuck (no pun) because you gave them consent to search the purse. You didn't give them consent to search the car because he "took" the keys. Usually, with such a warrant, officers can only search within the immediate wingspan of the arrested person (ie for weapons, or drugs mentioned in the warrant). Here though they searched the car before they arrested you -- possibly because a vehicle is an object someone can use to flee (it is one of the exceptions to the warrant requirment).


I don't really think there can be much done with this. -- it depends on the sequence of events:


1. search purse, found syringe so search car == OK
2. search purse, nothing found, but searched car anyway = not OK
 
N

Not Guilty

Guest
If your vehicle was in the curtilage of the premises named in the warrant your vehicle and everything in it can be searched. It does not matter if your vehicle was not named or stated with particularity in the warrant. Additionally this is not a Terry stop situation or a Caroll search. THIS IS JUST A SUGGESTION NOT LEGAL ADVICE YOU SHOULD RELY ON IF YOU WANT AN OPINION CONTACT A LOCAL ATTORNEY FAMILIAR WITH SEARCH AND SEIZURE LAW.
 

JETX

Senior Member
My suggestion... this is far too serious a matter to leave to an online free advice forum. Especially since none of us could possibly be aware of the specific circumstances of the warrant, the location, your proximity, and all the other variables that are in this situation.

I STRONGLY suggest that you talk this over with a Criminal Defense attorney in your location. He is the only person that can truly answer your question. And as you probably already know, an attorney can be appointed for you if you cannot afford one.
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top