Arrest, Search, Seizure, Warrant Improper police search?

[Patsfan56]

My jurisdiction is: Massachusetts, USA

My 19 year old son was driving a friend home on a well traveled boulevard in Salem, NH at 2:00 AM when he was pulled over by a police officer for straddling the center line on the road. My son admits he straddled the line. He asked my son if he had been drinking. My son responded no. There was no indication of alcohol either on my son's breath or visual indication of open alcoholic containers in the vehicle. There was no sobriety test performed on him. The officer then asked if there was alcohol in the vehicle. My son responded yes. The officer asked where it was located. My son said it was in the trunk. The officer asked him to open the trunk. My son obliged. There were two twelve packs of beer (3 bottles remaining from one package with the other package intact) inside the trunk. None of the bottles were opened nor were there any other open containers found in the car. My son was handcuffed and arrested. Bail bond was not required.

I have the following questions...

Did the police officer have the right to ask my son if there was alcohol in the vehicle without any evidence of DUI or evidence of alcohol present in the vehicle?

Could this be a "motion to suppress" case?

I contacted a lawyer who said it would cost $2000 to represent my son. Is it wise to try this case without a lawyer and pursue with "motion to suppress"?

Should my son plead guilty and face the possibility of losing his license for 90 days which also includes a $300 fine?

Thank you in advance for your response.

 

[tpajet]

The problem is this was not a search of the car. The officer asked if there was booze in the car, and your son told him yes, and even popped the trunk for the officer.

Yes, the officer has the right to ask if there's booze in the car, just the same as he can as if anything is in the car, drugs, weapons, booze, porno mags, dead bodies in the trunk, etc, etc. There's nothing illegal about him asking.

Now we move on to the fact that your son is udnerage, but admits he has booze in the car. That's more than enough probable cause for the officer, but that doesn't matter since your son willingly opened the trunk.

My question is how old was the friend? If the friend was over 21, you son could say it was the friend's beer, and that's not illegal.

I think ultimately, if the cost of a lawyer is too much, to get a public defender. But you are not going to have much, if at anything at all, to go on to get this dismissed based on the search.

 

[Patsfan56]

His friend is not 21 years old, so that situation is out of the question.

Thanks for the quick response.

 

[tpajet]

At this point he's pretty much screwed as far as getting out of the actuall charges. Best bet is get the lawyer/public defender and see if they can do some sort of plea deal on the charges or something.