Also known as: automobile exception
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A doctrine permitting warrantless searches of vehicles when officers have probable cause to believe the vehicle contains contraband or evidence of crime. The doctrine rests on the vehicle's inherent mobility and the reduced expectation of privacy associated with it compared to fixed structures. Officers may search the vehicle and any containers that could hold the object of the search either at the scene or after the vehicle has been impounded.
Officers stopped Catherine Carter after observing her load large duffel bags into her sedan following a meeting with a known drug associate. They had probable cause to believe the bags held proceeds from illegal activity. The officers seized the car, towed it to the station, and searched the bags three hours later without a warrant.
Officers received a tip that Craig Caldwell was storing stolen equipment in his truck parked in the driveway next to his house. They entered the driveway without a warrant or consent and searched the truck bed. The search yielded no admissible evidence because the driveway formed part of the home's protected curtilage.
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During a traffic stop of Carmen Choi's van, officers developed probable cause to believe the vehicle contained narcotics. They opened a passenger's purse found on the back seat and discovered controlled substances. The search of the purse was upheld even though the passenger was not the target of the investigation.
Officers stopped Christian Coleman's car after an informant described him transporting narcotics in a specific leather pouch. They searched the trunk and opened a zippered bag inside it, recovering heroin. The search extended to every container that could have held the suspected contraband.
While searching Caleb Chang's truck for a stolen firearm under the automobile exception, officers discovered a box of illegal ammunition in plain view inside a toolbox. They seized the ammunition even though they had not anticipated finding it during the initial search for the firearm.
Officers stopped Christopher Collins in his motor home on a highway after receiving a reliable tip that it contained marijuana. They searched the living quarters without a warrant and found the drugs. The search was valid because the motor home was readily mobile and not parked at a fixed residential site.
Yes. When probable cause exists at the time of the stop, officers may seize the vehicle and conduct the search later at the station without obtaining a warrant.
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No. The automobile exception does not authorize entry onto the curtilage of a home. Officers need separate justification, such as a warrant or exigent circumstances, to enter the driveway area.
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Yes. Once probable cause supports searching the vehicle, officers may open containers belonging to passengers that could hold the object of the search.
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Yes. The exception covers vehicles with the attributes of mobility and reduced privacy expectations, including motor homes not located at a fixed residential site.
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…imagination can this be made into a case where "it is not practicable to secure a warrant," Carroll, supra , at 153, and the "automobile exception," despite its label, is simply irrelevant.[^maj-19] Since Carroll would not have justified a warrantless search of the Pontiac at the time Coolidge was arrested, the later search at the…