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denying search at a road block
ok so i was just wondering if you get stopped at a road block, and the cop asks to search your car do you have the right to deny it? considering you're not drunk or anything like that but was just driving along & happened to hit a road block. i know if you get pulled over for whatever you have the right to deny it but at a road block would you be obligated to let them search?
i'm in Georgia if it helps.
thanks!
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I am a great deal older than most of the advisers on this site, so my advice will be somewhat different from what you have received and may continue to receive from others.
If you have nothing to hide it is better to let the Police search your car and let you be on your way. They can only do a visual search without a better reason so the search only takes a few minutes. If you refuse to allow the search, the police will bring in a dog to search the exterior of your car. If the dog alerts to whatever substance it is trained to detect, then the Police have to absolute right to search your car as they know have probable cause.
Police Officers can ask to search a vehicle whenever they suspect an illegal substance or objects may be in the vehicle. You do not have to be going through a checkpoint. At any traffic stop an Officer can ask to search a vehicle.
It is always better to cooperate; if for instance the Officer gets a whiff of some weed they will ask to search the car. The Officers will always ask if there is anything illegal in the vehicle. If there is don’t lie, a small amount of weed and your cooperation may mean the difference between a desk appearance summons and going to jail for the night. The Officer primary job is to get the drugs off the street, if you cooperate and do not have a criminal record the Officer has options to release you to your parents, if you are under age, with the desk appearance ticket or arrest you. If you are an adult with a clean record the desk appearance summons is appropriate if you have cooperated.
If nothing is found they will thank you for your cooperation and send you on your way. If you are a teenager and you are going to be late getting home most Officers will call your parents and explain that you were delayed by them at a traffic stop; where you are as well as how long it will take you to get home while traveling at the legal speed limit.
We entrust the police with keeping us safe, in doing so we will on occasion come in contact with them. They are only doing the job we as citizens ask of them, so even if we have something to hide and we know we have done wrong, they will find out. It is best in the long run to be cooperative. Tell the truth, do as they say and it will work in your best interest.
I tell you this not as a cop as I am not, I’m a fire fighter. But someone who is old enough to be your grandfather and as a firefighter has seen the results of those who try to run from the police; It is just not worth it. You will eventually be caught and you endanger not only your life but the lives of the Officers and others.
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Yes and no.
While you can certainly deny the search of your car, it doesn't mean they're going to just let you drive away like it was no big deal.
The police can legally search your vehicle if they have probable cause.
This means if they THINK you might be harboring drugs in there because you seem overly anxious, nervous, smell of drugs, or whatever they want to claim then they have ever right to attempt to protect the public by searching your vehicle even if you say you don't want them to.
If you deny the search in any sense they will take you in for the night at least. They have this saying about: if you have nothing to hide then why deny? By denying a search of your vehicle you become suspicious and are presumed to be hiding something. If that couples with, say, a very nervous attitude then BOOM they have probable cause that you may be harboring something or someone you shouldn't be within that vehicle.
Many people say to always deny their request for a vehicle search. It certainly does make sense to those of us who aren't hiding anything but, rather, would like to keep our personal belongings personal. The law enforcement just doesn't quite look at it that way.
If you get stopped and they decide that they need to search your car then you are just going to have to think about this:
You already have tickets. You've already been seen as harmful to others while driving.
You were underage and possessed a substances that was illegal for you to consume.
If you deny the search then what do you think they're going to think about you? They're not going to say, "Oh, she's just a private person. Go on. You go home now. Drive safely!" No. They're going to think: She must be hiding alcohol or drugs in this vehicle since she denies us the search. They WILL take you in for the night. If they still feel the car needs to be searched then they WILL make it so that they can do it to make sure you aren't hiding something.
Your best bet is to avoid the road that roadblocks are usually performed on if at all possible. If you know that sometimes road XYZ has roadblocks and ABC hardly ever does then take road ABC from now, even if it adds an extra 5 minute to your commute. If you absolutely must go through one then turn down your music, make sure you are buckled up, and do exactly what the officer says when he asks for your license and registration. If you aren't suspicious seeming then it'll only be about a 30 second look over your car and your license before they send you on your way.
If they do ask you to pull over and request a search of your car then you just have to weigh the odds of them finding or "finding" something. There have been tale of police searches that found drugs when the person was MOST DEFINITELY not a drug user. I don't know the law enforcement of your area. I don't know how crooked they may be. I don't know if they would do something heinous like that. I can't say.
Your options are in that case:
Deny - go to jail for the night; have your vehicle searched anyway
Accept - have your vehicle searched; hope for the best outcome but prepare for the worst
As for the probable cause: they will get if they want it. Let's be honest: There will be NO way of knowing for sure if you did smell like, say, marijuana that night though. Nobody will be able to vouch if you seemed intoxicated except you and the law enforcement. The same as nobody knows what is in you car except you and whoever would be searching it. In corrupt cases (and they do exist, unfortunately) it will always be your word against someone recognized as trustworthy by the entire community and courtroom.
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