Arrest, Search, Seizure, Warrant Search of juveniles and car

[nurse2008]

My daughter is 17 and driving with a provisional license in NJ. She was within all parmeters of the license and curfew last night. She was taking her brother to a friend's house and had one other passenger in the car before the midnight curfew. She got lost trying to find the house and pulled in a driveway of a home and backed out. A police officier stopped her. He said the car smelled like marijuana (which it didn't). He then had her get out of the car. He told her he wanted to search her car and gave her a consent form to sign. She asked why and he said because the car smelled like marijauna. He told her if she didn't sign the consent form to search, the car would be towed because there wasn't a judge to issue a search warrant at night. He also told her she would have to pay for the towing. Keep in mind that she was scared to death, is 17, and never had been stopped before. He searched the vehicle and all the occupants of the car. He had each person go to the back of the vehicle, put their hands on the trunk, and frisked each one. He didn't find anything.

My duaghter had asked why she was stopped and he wouldn't tell her until the end. He then said that he had run her plates and she wasn't from the little town the development was in (all the little farm towns run together and we live less than 4 miles from where she was stopped). He also told her that some mail boxes had been smashed in the development. In other words, she had done nothing wrong to warrant being stopped in the first place. They didn't find anything in the car or on the kids. However, this was very traumatic.

My questions are this:
1. Don't the police need a valid reason to stop someone?
2. Once they stopped her and stated the car smelled like marijuana, even if it didn't, does that give them the right to search the car?
3. If she didn't consent to the search, what would have happened? Would they really have towed her car?
4. What gave the officier the right to have the passengers get out of the car and be searched? Does the consent she signed give them the right to search the passengers.
5. They took all the information from her and the passengers. Names, birthdates, etc. What do they do with that information?
6. What are her rights as far as a search of her car and passengers in the future?

Thank you for your help.

 

[jacksgal]

1. Don't the police need a valid reason to stop someone?
Yes there had been crimes in area (mailbox smashing)
2. Once they stopped her and stated the car smelled like marijuana, even if it didn't, does that give them the right to search the car?
Neither you nor I know what Officer smelled its legal
3. If she didn't consent to the search, what would have happened? Would they really have towed her car?
If he says so yes
4. What gave the officier the right to have the passengers get out of the car and be searched? Does the consent she signed give them the right to search the passengers.
The Officer suspected drug use. The searchhad nothing to do with the car
5. They took all the information from her and the passengers. Names, birthdates, etc. What do they do with that information?
Probably nothing other than run names for wants or warrants that night
6. What are her rights as far as a search of her car and passengers in the future?
Her rights are to wait patiently while Officer does his job

If your daughter was obey all laws (I assume she was) then this was nothing more than a minor annoyance. Kids tend to do things like smash mailboxes if you had lived in that nieghborhood and this wasnt your daughter I suspect you would feel different

 

[CdwJava]

My questions are this:
1. Don't the police need a valid reason to stop someone?

They need reasonable suspicion to believe that a crime has occurred. Whether the vandalism is mail boxes in the area coupled with an out of the area registration provides that suspicion is open for debate. Since she was not ultimately charged, it is a debate that may never happen.

2. Once they stopped her and stated the car smelled like marijuana, even if it didn't, does that give them the right to search the car?

If they believe it did smell like marijuana, that might give them probable cause to search the car. A few states do not have a "plain smell" doctrine, to coin a phrase, but I do not recall NJ being one that exempts odors from being used for probable cause.

3. If she didn't consent to the search, what would have happened? Would they really have towed her car?

If they intended to get a search warrant, sure. However, I think it was a bluff.

4. What gave the officier the right to have the passengers get out of the car and be searched? Does the consent she signed give them the right to search the passengers.

There are a number of possible theories as to why the passengers could be searched - one being a pat-down search for weapons under very minimal articulable suspicion, the other being that the odor of marijuana in the car indicates that someone is in possession of the dope. Howevr, as none was found and no court proceeding will take place, the issue will not receive an airing in court.

5. They took all the information from her and the passengers. Names, birthdates, etc. What do they do with that information?

It often goes into a report ir into a database of people contacted. It may just stay in an officer's notebook.

6. What are her rights as far as a search of her car and passengers in the future?

She can decline consent to a search and force their hand. If they have probable cause to search, they will just shrug it off and search anyway. Otherwise, they will have to get a search warrant.

- Carl