Q: Did the officer do an illegal search on our persons that we did not consent to. He found drugs on my 2 passengers
was coming home from the local market 12:05 am had 2 passengers in the car (current registration and insurance, lic is suspended.) cop informed me that i was stopped for doing 50 in a 40 zone. I started to hand him my reg & insur paperwork but he refused and asked for my lic instead. told him the status of my lic and he ask for name which I provided, he then asked my passengers to Id themselves which they did though they had done nothing suspicious, there was nothing in plain view or in their behavior to warrant the request, he searched us all.(without consent, was not a weapons pat down) One of the passengers a female informed him she felt uncomfortable having him search her person and her purse, he did so anyways he then asked me if he searched my car would he find anything illegal I told him no, he proceeded to search my car and the personal belongings of my passengers without consent, drugs found passenger belongings they were cited i was not. can they fight and win case?
A:
Did you give him a valid driver's license when the cop asked for it? If not cops can search for your ID.
If you gave him you license, then your facts sound like an illegal search.
Good luck!
A: This is a close issue. Some things to keep in mind are that a traffic stop can be considered an "arrest" since you are not free to simply leave, and police are allowed to conduct a search incident to an arrest. I think there are meritorious arguments for and against the legality of the search you describe.
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