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V-Opolis

cars dont need a warrant, something that isnt bolted to the ground can be searched without a warrant.

ya your right, you need a warrant and probable cause OR owner permission. i thought you meant you needed all 3 to search.

poeticas

just teh other day ... i went cycling with mah friends ... and we went to get something to eat from this place near police station ... and what do we see there 4 cops bringing in this drunk dude who's trying to resist em ... but he can't and the cops are like "Oh we will see who's the tough guy when we go inside the cell ..." so obviously hes going to get beaten up ! it was kind of hilarious actually xD

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Espada1

Lol why were you so scare when the cops were near your place? Did you think you did something wrong or something?

TrueElements

I'm not sure, i think it was my inner guilt.

Oisterboy

No, they also NEED a warrant unless they can prove probable cause...which is about anything they want to claim. They can say "oh, your eyes are a little red, probable cause"...even if they aren't, how can you prove they weren't.

Technically, they are supposed to have consent, a warrant, or probable cause to search your vehicle as well.

In some states, refusing when asked warrants probable cause.

****in' big brother.

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Paladuck

You guys are both somewhat right and somewhat wrong with respect to probable cause.

As a general rule, you need a warrant to search anything. The police present all their evidence to a magistrate judge, and the judge makes a determination of whether there is probable cause. If there is, then he issues the warrant. The police do not make determinations of probable cause, otherwise it would be totally biased (Gee Bob, do you think I have probable cause to search this house? I say yes. *kicks door down*)

However, there are almost too many exceptions to the warrant requirement, and they are too complicated to get into. These include consent, plain view, stop & frisk, search incident to arrest, cars, inventory searches, exigent circumstances and administrative searches.

You do not need a warrant to search a car. It is sufficient to search a car if the police themselves have probable cause. The rationale is that cars can be driven away, and it would be retarded for an officer to go get a warrant and then come back only to find that the car is gone. A lot of commentators are now criticizing this rule given that, in the modern age, warrants can be obtained on the spot via telephone.

However, just because something is movable it does not mean that you do not need a warrant. The police would still need a warrant to search a bag, or a footlocker, or a shoebox. Usually when they obtain warrants, the warrants will give authority to search a house or anything inside of it. However, if the warrant only gives the police the authority to, say, search a house for assault rifles, they can't go poking around in a cigar box because there's obviously no way a rifle would fit into there.

I'm 99% sure that refusal to consent to a search can never constitute probable cause. It does not depend on the state, because the right to be free from unreasonable searches is a right protected by the US Constitution, and thus all states must abide by it. If your right to refuse a search could constitute grounds for that search, it would render that right totally useless.

Edit: anyway, to make this relevant to OP's topic, the police had a warrant to search the apartment. This is further bolstered by the fact that most warrants are executed at 3-5am, a time when it is least dangerous for the police, because Joe Schmo is more likely to be asleep rather than polishing his .44

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V-Opolis

i know. The thing is you dont need a warrant tho. By the time you get a warrant you could have hidden your car or simply flung everything out the window of the car. its rather hard to move a house tho. and when they get house warrants they dont make it known to the person so they cant simply hide shit before they come back.

cars/ most movable objects you just need probable cause. you could get a warrant, but itd be stupid.

houses and bolted objects you need warrants and probable cause or consent.

H4wkeye

If a cop pulls you over and smells weed from your car, he has a probable cause to search your vehicle without any warrant or you allowing it. Also, it's a common practice in the US for multiple squad cars to respond to various calls.

Kevinboyz

The law is funny, if they have a warrant to search your house for drugs and find a dead body they can't do anything until they go back to the judge and get another warrant for dead bodies.

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