The best criminal defense attorney will tell you that you absolutely have the right to say “no” to a search of your vehicle, if you were stopped for a regular traffic infraction. The mere fact that law enforcement has a reasonable reason to stop a driver does not give him the right to investigate anything else within the “scope of his suspicion”. Just because he may believe there could be illegal activity inside your vehicle, following the stop, the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution protects citizens against unreasonable searches and seizures in their homes and their vehicles.
You can not be stopped and searched without a legal reason. If you were pulled over due to a legal traffic stop, the officer may not request consent for a search of a vehicle, once the purpose of the initial traffic stop is completed and there is no evidence of any wrongdoing beyond the reason for the traffic stop. The Supreme Court of Ohio said that the courts have an obligation to protect the ordinary law-abiding citizen from intrusive, illegal and overbearing government action.
If law enforcement can show that every step in the process of stopping and then searching you had a legitimate LEGAL basis, such as evidence of marijuana in plain sight, any evidence they may gather from the search can be used against you, and you will need an aggressive criminal defense attorney to protect your rights in court.
The Bottom Line: If you have been stopped by police for a traffic violation, do not ever consent to a search of you or your vehicle. If you or a loved one were searched at a legal traffic stop and evidence found, the evidence may not be used against you. An aggressive criminal defense attorney will be able to investigate whether the search was justified for any legal reason, otherwise, the search was illegal unless a warrant was obtained. Call me. 513-260-2099
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