Q: If there is no probable cause for a traffic stop, can the police keep the vehicle to get a search warrant?
I was at a red light in Baltimore City, but right at the city/county line and county police hit the vehicle I am in and arrest me and the other 3 passengers. The commissioner decides that there was no probable cause and I am released on recognizance. The police say that they are holding the car and a few days later they obtain a warrant to search the car and in doing so, they collect evidence that they say can be connected to a crime. Is this legal?
A: A lawyer will need to review all the details and facts, and file a motion to suppress; however, if the search of the vehicle was incident to a lawfully obtained and issued search warrant, then the evidence may not be suppressed, despite the initial stop lacking probable cause. That will be an issue that will have to be litigated. The District Court Commissioner is not a judge, and his determination that the initial stop lacked probable cause will not be binding on the court, so that issue will need to be re-argued, and as I said, it may not ultimately compel suppression of the items later found in the vehicle after execution of a facially valid search warrant. But again, that would need more evaluation of the facts and legal research to develop a winning argument. Get a lawyer.
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