Legal Questions and the LawPost your questions about the law, or speeding tickets or anything legal. Disclaimer: 7thGenCivic.com and it's moderators are not lawyers or police officers (unless otherwise noted) and can in no way be held responsible for any advice or action
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Learn what to say and what not to say and when vehicle searches are legal.
Your battle to beat a ticket begins the instant you realize you're being stopped by a police officer. You will be in a much better position to challenge your ticket in court if you take a few simple steps when you are pulled over. Here are some suggestions.
1. When You See the Police Car
If a police car is following you with its siren blaring or emergency lights flashing, pull over to the right safely and quickly. Pull over in a way that will be most likely to calm down an angry or annoyed traffic officer. Use your turn signal to indicate any lane changes from left to right, and slow down fairly quickly, but not so quickly that the officer will have to brake to avoid hitting you. Pull over as far to the right as possible so that, when the officer comes up to your widow, he won't have to worry about being clipped by vehicles in the right lane.
By stopping as soon as you can, you'll have a better chance of figuring out exactly where the officer says you committed a violation. You may want to return to that area later to make sure the officer was telling the truth about how he judged your speed, saw your turn, or witnessed any other violation.
2. Right After You Stop
After you've pulled over to a safe spot, you might want to show the officer a few other token courtesies. At this point, you have little to lose and perhaps something to gain.
First off, roll down your window all the way. You may also want to turn off the engine, place your hands on the steering wheel, and, if it's dark, turn on your interior light. This will tend to allay any fears the officer may have. (After all, police officers are killed every day in such "ordinary" traffic-stop situations, and the officer's approach to the vehicle is the potentially most dangerous.)
Don't start rummaging through your back pocket for your wallet and license, or in your glove compartment for your registration, until the officer asks you for them. For all he knows, you could be reaching for a gun.
warning If you are at all concerned that the person who stopped you is not actually a police officer (for example, if the car that pulled you over is unmarked), you should ask to see the officer's photo identification along with his badge. If you still have doubts, you can ask that the officer to call a supervisor to the scene or you can request that you be allowed to follow the officer to a police station.
3. Avoid Giving the Officer an Excuse to Search
A police officer is normally not allowed to search your vehicle. However, there are several exceptions to this. An officer who observes you trying to either hide something under the seat or throw something out the window may legally search your car. Once the cop is on your rear bumper with his spotlight silhouetting your every move, he's watching for any sort of furtive movement. A sudden lowering of one or both shoulders will tip him off that you're attempting to hide something under the seat.
If the officer has a reasonable suspicion you are armed and dangerous, she can frisk (pat down) you. Similarly, if the officer reasonably suspects that you are involved in criminal activity she can also perform a pat down. And if the police officer has probable cause -- a reasonable basis or justification to believe that you or your passengers are involved in criminal activity -- they can search your car and objects belonging to passengers.
Can I refuse to let a police officer search my car during a traffic stop?
Even if the officer doesn't have reasonable suspicion or probable cause, once you are stopped, a police officer may seize any illegal objects in your car that are in "plain view." Once they see the object, such as open beer or wine bottles or drug paraphernalia, they can open the car door to reach in and get it. After that, they may come across other objects that are in plain view and shouldn't be in your car, and they can seize these, too.
Lastly, your car may also be searched if you or any occupant is arrested. Also, if you're arrested and your car is towed, the police may make an "inventory search" afterward, even if they have no reason to suspect there is anything illegal inside.
4. Should You Get Out of Your Car?
An officer who stops you for an alleged traffic violation has the right to insist that you and your passengers get out of your car. You should do so if asked. Also, getting out of your car may make it easier for you to check road conditions, the weather, and the place the violation supposedly occurred.
However, many police officers prefer that you stay in your car and will tell you to stay there if you start to get out. If this happens, obviously you should cooperate. If you get out of the car against the officer's orders, don't be surprised to see a gun pointing at you. Cops are trained to expect the worst. When you get out of your car, they may assume you're about to pull a weapon or attempt to flee.
If an officer has any reason to believe that you might be dangerous, he has a right to conduct a quick "pat-down" search of your outer clothing while he is standing next to you, to make sure you don't have a concealed knife or gun. If the officer feels any weapon-sized object during the pat-down search, he can reach in and get it. Also, the officer's good faith belief that you may be dangerous justifies a search of the passenger compartment of your car for weapons.
5. Talking to the Officer
Many people stopped by an officer make the mistake of saying the wrong thing to him and failing to say the right things. And a case can be won or lost depending on what you say -- or don't say -- to the officer.
Don't speak first. Especially don't start off with a defensive or hostile "What's the problem?" or similar words. Let the officer start talking. He will probably ask to see your license and vehicle registration. Many people make the mistake of insisting the officer tell them why he stopped them before they'll comply. Don't make that mistake. Reply "okay" or "sure," then hand over the documents.
One of the first things traffic cops learn in the police academy is to decide, before leaving their vehicle, whether they're going to give a ticket or just a warning. They may act as though they still haven't made up their minds and are going to let you off only if you'll cooperate. Don't fall for this. The hesitating officer may be trying to appear open-minded in order to extract admissions out of you, to use them against you in court if necessary. The strategy is to try to get you to admit either that you committed a violation or that you were so careless, inattentive, or negligent that you don't know whether you did or not.
The officer might start by asking you the sort of question whose lack of a definite answer would imply guilt, like, "Do you know why I stopped you?" Or, he might ask, "Do you know how fast you were going?" Your answers, if any, should be non-committal and brief, like a simple "No" to the first question or a very confident, "Yes, I do," to the second. If he then tells you how fast he thinks you were going or what he thinks you did, don't argue. Give a noncommittal answer, like, "I see," or no answer at all. Silence is not an admission of guilt and cannot be used against you in court.
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Hope this helps out in the long run for all the new drivers and people that need to know.
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"(d) Cops Safety. This is the SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR. I can NOT stress this enough. How many times have we seen those police video clips where a cop pulls over a car for a burned out taillight, goes up to the driver's side window and gets shot 4,295 times by the wacked out drug delirious **** wad behind the wheel? Lots of times? Well guess what... so have the cops. If you are unlucky enough to get pulled over, one of the best things you can do in your defense, is to let the officer know you're not a threat to him. Before he approaches your window... have BOTH hands on the wheel where he can see them. Turn your radio off. Have anyone in the car with you put their hands in a visible position. If there's a pair of cops, one approaching each side of your car, put BOTH windows down. If its night time, turn your interior lights on. If your windows are tinted, lower ALL your windows. If it's raining and you're going to get your imported Italian sheepskin leather seats wet -- too ****ing bad. The cop's going to be in a much more forgiving mood if he doesn't have to worry about your passenger Pablo coming up with a 9mm Glock from the back seat."
"If it's so essential, ask yourself why you've been able to live without it before now."
Try doing something nice for a total stranger, then look back at your car. Notice that the good feeling you get from helping lasts all day, but you constantly have to put stuff on your car to feel better.
Even if a police officer is wrong, he can pull you over for what ever reason he wants. Iv'e been pulled over numerous times for no reason what's so ever. The last time the officer said " I want to check your registration" He has all the power. I gave him my registration and said nothing, he let me go. What he was probably doing was checking to see if had any warrants, because I look a certain way or live in a certain neighborhood. I have at least five more stories that go the same way. I think they find me on their slow days.
Can't believe I never saw it! But yea I always turn car off (don't like wasting gas), and put hands on the wheel. I've been afraid to turn the dome light on altho I think it comes on for a minute once the car is off. I gotta remember to roll all the windows down instead of just the driver side.
Oh and just what do you have to do to get pat down cause one time there was a super hot officer and...haha.
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Can't believe I never saw it! But yea I always turn car off (don't like wasting gas), and put hands on the wheel. I've been afraid to turn the dome light on altho I think it comes on for a minute once the car is off. I gotta remember to roll all the windows down instead of just the driver side.
I always turn the lights on in the car (unless it's daytime) and roll down the rear windows. I do -NOT- want the cops to be edgy around me. My window tint is very dark, so I want them to know that there's no "pedro crouched in the back with a 9mm"...
What about random searches for nothing that involve groping?
I was driving my old boosted car and ran a red light. The cops pulled me over, gave me a ticket, and then asked me to step out so they could frisk me. Confused and tired, I complied and got my nuts and ass grabbed (groping like). The parter looked grossed out but the other cop was happy. Whats up with police actions like this?
He has all the power. I gave him my registration and said nothing, he let me go. What he was probably doing was checking to see if had any warrants, because I look a certain way or live in a certain neighborhood. 
