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
tomder55		07/23/05
the 4th amendment guards against "unresonable searches" .The check points are generally recognized as reasonable;but they have to be specific and limited in scope.. The 'in plain sight test ' has been used .Any other search of the car requires a bench warrant. In City of Indianapolis v. Edmond the court decided 6-3 that general non-specific check points violated the 4th amendment."We cannot sanction stops justified only by the generalized and ever-present possibility that interrogation and inspection may reveal that any given motorist has committed some crime,"[Justice O'Connor]

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