Dallas / Ft. Worth NORML

Supreme Court on Car Searches

Sandra Hernandez, The 33 News

April 22, 2009

Chris says he was guilty of speeding when cops searched his vehicle, "It happened to me on 30. They searched my car I had a little marijuana in there I'm not going to lie."

He landed in jail.
The Supreme Court ruled that was a violation of his rights. Tyree Waters says something similar happened to him, "Handcuff me don't ask can he search my car he just goes through my car he finds nothing in it."

"We have already notified our officers of the ruling," says Officer Joe Harn spokesperson for the Garland Police Department. Officers will undergo training immediately. Harn adds, "We may lose evidence of another crime that we didn't know was happening because we're now not able to search. It has taken away that search power for any arrest that we've had for some 28 years."

Under this Court ruling officers will only be able to search a car if they have reason to believe that there is evidence in the car that will support the arrest or if they believe that the suspect has a weapon.

District Court Judge John Cruezot says the ruling simply clarifies the law, "Typically someone who is arrested can be put in handcuffs and put in a car and up until today we all thought that the constitution allowed the police just to search the car pretty much for the sake of it under the theory that it was for officer safety."

NAACP President Juanita Wallace only wishes officers had less discretion, "I think the tighter the rules are the less likely you're going to have corrupt people stepping over the line."

Chris says, "It's good cuz they won't have to be harassing people taking people's cars cuz they'd be thinking everybody out here drug dealers and everybody ain't drug dealers."

Source:
http://www.the33tv.com/pages/content_landing_page/?Supreme-Court-on-Car-...