Question Details	Asked By	Asked On
Random Searching By Government	Penny	07/22/05
If the police stop you, say on New Year's Eve, checking for drunk drivers at a spot where everybody is being pulled over randomly (i.e., without probable cause), and find pot on your car seat, can you be arrested? You're not drunk. I assume you can, but what about the protection of the 4th Amendment since there was no probable cause to begin with? Just a random search.
Answered By		Answered On
Bishop_Chuck		07/24/05
This is still a state by state issue, the laws on probable cause, the right to do auto stops without cause varies greatly from state to state. If the pot was in plain site, no "search" by meaning was done, since anything seen in visual view is usable as evidence. It is the actual STOP, that may or may not be allowed depending on the view of various state courts. In most states, if the stop is done according to specified rules, It is considered in general by those states that allow random stops, that you consent to these searches automaticly by driving, If you drive in those states, you have given your concent basicly. They view driving as a privilage, not a "right" so you give them the right to stop for the ability to drive in those states.

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