Arrest, Search, Seizure, Warrant no permission to search

[learner]

Recently my daughter and boyfriend and the boyfriends mother was arrested and charged with possion of drugs after the police searched the mothers car when they responded to a domestic problem at our local grocery store parking lot after she and my daughter had just gotten her son out of jail for driving on suspended license and speeding. From information that I got from the mother it started when a man in a pick-up was pulling into a parking space he brought his truck close to her son,which is know to have a quick temper,said something to the driver and a fight started. When the local authorties arrived they handcuffed her son and my daughter and begin there investgation. With the handcuffs on my daughters boyfriend tried to run,naturally he didn't get far. At this the authorities asked the mother to stand aside and beginning searching her car without asking her permission and located a small metal box. When asked about the box she said she new nothing about the box and had no ideal why it was in her car,the box had a lock on it. When ask if she would unlock the box so they could look in it she replyed again that she knew nothing of the box and had no key to it. The authorities broke open the box and found drugs in it. Now that my daughter and boyfriend are in jail my daughters boyfriend has tried to admit that the box is his and that he put it in the car. The authorities will not accept his statement for they say he was in jail and that the mother stated that they did not stop between the jail and the store. The mother has never been in trouble with law,which is not the case of my daughter and her boyfriend,but she is charged anyway and will only be cleared of the charges if my daughter admits that she put the box in her car. Is this considered illegal search and should my daughter admit to the box?

 

[Wolfmann]

That's too bad. It's going to be a hassle.

Your first question...no. It's not necessarily an illegal search. The officers at the scene have a right to protect themselves, suspects, and citizen against violence. Generally police only have authority to search for protections of themselves, to secure evidence, or where on reasonable grounds they have authority under the law. This could very well include any personal possessions, including a motor vehicle, that the person lays claim to. The problem here, however, is that the cops left some holes in their case a good lawyer should be able to exploit.

You really need to look at the justification the officers used to search the vehicle initially. If they are using some sort of written legislature and they acted within it's criteria, then she's sunk. If it is their departmental policy to do so, you can challenge the policy. A case like tha happened here in Canada when a fellow was pulled over for impaired driving. The officers searched the interior and the trunk and in the trunk they found break and enter tools and stolen property. The judge ruled that because the original offence did not require a search of the trunk, and because it was a locked or secured receptacle it was private enclosure (much like a house) - had the driver consented to a search, or the trunk was unsecured or unlocked then it would've been a reasonable search. There was no way to connect the original offence with the justification for the search and seizure. The search of the interior was justifiable because the driver had an open can of alcohol in his lap, plus the vehicle needed to be secured for towing. Higher appeals court upheld the decision.

In this case though, the association of her son with the vehicle may be enough justification. It is a justification to search for and secure any possible evidence. Now...prying the locked boxed open could be objectionable.

Your second question...if the box is hers, and the drugs are hers, she should accept her responsibility for it. But that is a character issue.

In this case the mother is guilty under the law of possession of a narcotic and will probably be convicted of it if she cannot plea out, or has a lawyer that can apply case law to it. She's in care and control of that motor vehicle, and by proxy responsible for every one and everything in it.

 

[NYClex]

Yes, like wolfmann said, it depends on the details. There are different rules for searches depending on the situation:
-a simple check for the safety of the officers
-search incident to arrest
-plain view
and so on.

Their lawyer will have a look at the circumstances and find out if he can challenge the search, but don't hold your breath. Most cops nowadays know how far they can go to stll get stuff admitted.