DUI's And Police Rights
Can a police officer visually inspect the inside of my car if I am stopped for a DUI?
If you're properly stopped for a DUI, and pulled over with justification, then yes, the police officer can conduct a visual inspection of your car. They can stand from the outside of your car, and can look inside and scan the interior of the car to see whether there is any sign of illegal substance in there.
Can police officers search my vehicle if I am stopped for a DUI?
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.
Can police officers search my glove box and trunk if I am stopped for DUI?
If you're stopped for DUI, the police officers typically cannot search the glove compartment or trunk unless you give consent allowing them to do so, or you are ultimately arrested in which case they can search everything in the car, or if they have some particular reason to believe that you have illegal items or illegal substances inside the trunk or glove box.
Can police officers search my person or my personal belongings if I am stopped for a DUI?
If you are stopped for DUI, the officers can order you out of the vehicle and can pat down the exterior lining of your clothes. That's what they call a pat down search. The purpose of a pat down search is to feel whether there are any weapons or sharp objects that you may have that you could use to threaten the officer's safety. It is not intended to be a search for evidence. However, if in the course of doing the pat down search the officers felt a gun or knife or it was obviously drugs, at that point they could reach in and seize the weapon or illegal item. Other than that, the officers cannot do a full search of your person and your clothes unless you are ultimately arrested for DUI after the roadside investigation.
If the intoxicated driver is not the owner of the vehicle can the owner face charges for a DUI?
If you know somebody is intoxicated and you allow them to drive your vehicle, and should they get caught for drunk driving, then you potentially could be charged as an accessory or an accomplice to drunk driving. It's unusual but it could happen. Therefore it is advisable not to allow somebody you know is drunk to drive your car.
Do the police have the right to search non-driving occupants of a vehicle during a DUI stop?
During a DUI stop, the police have the right to order passengers of the vehicle and to pat them down to see if they have any weapons or sharp objects or something that could jeopardize the safety of the officers. Other than that, the police do not have the right to do a full search of the passengers unless they have a very specific reason to believe that these passengers have possession of illegal items.
