Q: If the car that was searched is owned by a person who ain't there, and ain't allow the cop to search it, is that legal
The driver is the boyfriend of the owner of the vehicle. He was pulled over, with a friend in the car, for having the lights off in a McDonald's parking lot while going around to the exit. After being taken out of the vehicle the officers asked the driver if they could search it, he replied, "I don't know, whatever, it's not my truck."
Does this constitute a legal consent for a search of a private vehicle, or would a pursuant search be judged to be illegal?
Wouldn't they really need the permission of the title holder of said vehicle?
A: The owner can argue she is not in possession of anything found and the driver can argue he's not in possession of anything found. It'd a he said, she said. It will come down to credibility and circumstances: where in the car, hidden or in plain sight, etc. Both can be charged. But search will probably be adjudged legal. Both owner and driver need separate counsel.
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