Arrest, Search, Seizure, Warrant Vehicle searched without being asked..Legal?

[fdacops]

i was recently pulled over by an officer running tags. he said the truck i was driving came up under a different color in his database. i showed identification and gave proper registration for my vehicle...while i was pulling out my id a couple cigarillos came out of my pocket and the officer asked if i smoked, i told him yes i smoked a couple hours earlier and he asked me to get out of the car so he could search the vin numbers. while i was standing outside, the officer went inside my vehicle then said he smelled weed, and asked me if he searched the car would he find anything and i said no. i was searched without being asked, and my vehicle was also searched and two grams of marijuana was found behind my seat in a bookbag.
i wanted to know
1.did the officer have the right to ask me any questions about weed if i was pulled over for something else?
2.if an officer has to find a vin number, does he have the right to enter my vehicle?
3.was the admission to smoking earlier probable cause for a search?

any and all information would be greatly appreciated...
fdacops

 

[Hideoutcabins]

Ok,,,,with regard to question number one,,,,the officer can ask you any questions he/she wants; however, you need not answer if you prefer. Finally, the odor of weed is sufficient to search in some states without consent. Other states require a visual on paraphenelia or K-9 indication on vehicle. As for enterin a vehicle to ID a VIN,,,thats located on the dash and visible from outside. You may have been wrongfully delayed, detained or harrased depending on the circumstances. Would need much more info.

 

[fdacops]

thank you very much...i have been pulled over before, for the same reason i suspect, and was on my way within a couple minutes...this time the officer asked me to step out of my vehicle so he could check the vin...took a look in my door compartment and was halfway inside my vehicle before telling me he smelled marijuana...how would i be able to find out if the odor would be sufficient for a search

 

[tpajet]

while i was pulling out my id a couple cigarillos came out of my pocket and the officer asked if i smoked, i told him yes i smoked a couple hours earlier

Please clarify if I'm wrong, but it sounds like he asked if you had smoked pot. Also it sounds like he was prompted to ask this based on what fell out of your pocket. If that's the case, then that kind of lead him to believe that the cigarillos had pot in them. That would be cause enough to search the vehicle.

The officer can ask you anything. Do you have drugs/guns/dead bodies in the truck/blood samples/toxic waste/ etc/etc/etc. There is nothing illegal about that.

 

[CdwJava]

i was recently pulled over by an officer running tags. he said the truck i was driving came up under a different color in his database.

That might be sufficient reasonable suspicion to detain you. Checking the VIN seems to confirm that as the cause for the stop.

while i was standing outside, the officer went inside my vehicle then said he smelled weed, and asked me if he searched the car would he find anything and i said no. i was searched without being asked, and my vehicle was also searched and two grams of marijuana was found behind my seat in a bookbag.

Marijuana has a distinct odor. The odor of marijuana can - in almost every state - give sufficient cause to conduct a search.

1.did the officer have the right to ask me any questions about weed if i was pulled over for something else?

He can ask you about the weather, the Mets, or your girlfriend if he wants. He can ask about anything he wants ... you do not necessarily have to answer him, however.

2.if an officer has to find a vin number, does he have the right to enter my vehicle?

That's one of the places the VIN can be found ... on the dash, in the door frame or on the door (depending on the vehicle) as well as under the hood.

3.was the admission to smoking earlier probable cause for a search?

By itself? No.

Coupled with the odor he smelled inside the car? Almost certainly.


- Carl