Quote:
Originally Posted by Snowball  Actual search points are prohibited? I thought driving a vehicle on public roads pretty much gives  the right to search you and it whenever/wherever they want. |
Nope, not quite. They cannot search your vehicle without your consent. BUT! If LEO claims to smell something suspicious they may detain you until they either have a canine on the scene (whose alert is widely-accepted probable cause to subsequently search the vehicle) or a search warrant from the local courthouse. And LEO is free to set up safety or sobriety checkpoints, which are ways to fast-forward their way to a legally sound search on a volume of vehicles.
As paper-thin as the 4th amendment is these days, it still exists. Your car is private property and thus guarded against 'unreasonable search or seizure'.
Our definitions of unreasonable may clash with those of the courts and typical LEO practice, although i think ours are more closely in line with common sense.
Be careful, be smart, and be cool.