Arrest, Search, Seizure, Warrant Is it legal to search a parked vehicle outside a home?

[aamolsch]

My jurisdiction is: Michigan

My friends and I had been outside one of their houses. Mine and one of my friends cars were parked outside. The police came to the house and one of my friends, not the owner of the car, went in the house. The police told him to come outside and proceeded to go into the house without permission to see if he had placed any drugs in the home. They found a bag of marijuana. While we were outside of the house my friend with the car asked if he could leave and they said no because they had to search his car. No one was in the car at this time nor the time that the police arrived. My friend declined them the right to search the car and they made us wait until a search dog came out to search the car. When the dog arrived it found a bag of weed in the car. Was it legal for the police to search the car when there was no trace of drugs being in the car before hand?

 

[CdwJava]

There is no way we can accurately assess the legality of the search since we do not know what the police know. If there is sufficient articulable probable cause, then the entry to the home and the search of the car can be justified. if not, then both may be bad. It really depends on what the officers have to say and whether or not any of the players are on probation or parole.

Anyone charged with a crime needs to seek legal counsel. An attorney can obtain copies of the police reports and evaluate the articulation to see if it might be vulnerable to a suppression motion.

- Carl