Can police officers search my vehicle if I am stopped for a DUI?

Can police officers search my vehicle if I am stopped for a DUI?

Neil Shouse (Defense Attorney) gives expert video advice on: Can a police officer visually inspect the inside of my car if I am stopped for a DUI?; Can police officers search my vehicle if I am stopped for a DUI?; Can police officers search my glove box and trunk if I am stopped for DUI? and more...

If you're stopped for a DUI the police officer can only search your vehicle in three contexts. First of all, he can search your vehicle if you are arrested. If you're ultimately arrested for DUI, then the police can do what's called an inventory search. That means search your entire vehicle and all the compartments and belongings within it. Secondly, the police can search your vehicle if you give consent. If they say, “Look, do you mind if I look through your car?” and you say, “Sure, go ahead” then that gives them authority to search. Finally, the police can search your vehicle if they have reason to believe that there are illegal items inside. For example, suppose the police officer smells burnt marijuana and looks and sees a pipe on the seat that appears to be a marijuana pipe. That may give him reason to believe there's marijuana inside and justification to search the car to locate possible marijuana.