Can the police search my car after a traffic stop?

If you get pulled over and the police ask to search your vehicle, what are your rights? A good rule of thumb is that if you are being pulled over for something that you can be arrested for, e.g. dui, contraband in plain view, then the officer probably has the right to search your car. A speeding ticket is not probable cause to search your car. You do not have to consent to the search. The officer must have probable cause that a crime has been committed or is about to be committed. If you are pulled over for a speeding ticket and then the officer asks, if he can search your car. You may ask the officer if you are under arrest? If he says “no” then ask him if you can leave. Ask him why he wants to search? Make it clear that you do not consent to a search. However, advise him or her that you will not physically obstruct them, if he believes that he has probable cause. Even if you refuse consent to search, the officer might search anyway. Many times the officer will just say that he smells marijuana or something that he really doesn’t smell. Be smart, be polite, but verbally, refuse the search. If the officer searches your car without your consent he will have to justify to a judge why he thought he had probable cause to search in the event contraband is discovered. If you are charged with a crime based upon items seized from the car, your lawyer may be able to challenge the admissibility of this evidence with a suppression motion. Had you consented to the search then this potentially valuable defensive strategy would not be available to you.