The motor vehicle exception is a legal rule in the

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that modifies the normal

probable cause In United States criminal law, probable cause is the legal standard by which police authorities have reason to obtain a warrant for the arrest of a suspected criminal and for a court's issuing of a search warrant. One definition of the standar ...

requirement of the Fourth Amendment to the

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and, when applicable, allows a police officer to

search Searching may refer to: Music * "Searchin', Searchin", a 1957 song originally performed by The Coasters * Searching (China Black song), "Searching" (China Black song), a 1991 song by China Black * Searchin' (CeCe Peniston song), "Searchin" (C ...

motor vehicle A motor vehicle, also known as a motorized vehicle, automotive vehicle, automobile, or road vehicle, is a self-propelled land vehicle, commonly wheeled, that does not operate on railway track, rails (such as trains or trams), does not fly (such ...

without a search warrant.

Description

The motor vehicle exception was first established by the

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in 1925, in ''

Carroll v. United States ''Carroll v. United States'', 267 U.S. 132 (1925), was a decision by the United States Supreme Court that upheld the warrantless searches of an automobile, which is known as the automobile exception. The case has also been cited as widening th ...

''. The motor vehicle exception allows officers to search a vehicle without a

search warrant A search warrant is a court order that a magistrate or judge issues to authorize Police, law enforcement officers to conduct a Search and seizure, search of a person, location, or vehicle for evidence of a crime and to Confiscation, confiscate an ...

if they have

to believe that

evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports the proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the proposition is truth, true. The exact definition and role of evidence vary across different fields. In epistemology, evidence is what J ...

contraband Contraband (from Medieval French ''contrebande'' "smuggling") is any item that, relating to its nature, is illegal to be possessed or sold. It comprises goods that by their nature are considered too dangerous or offensive in the eyes of the leg ...

is in the vehicle.Hendrie, E. (August 2005).
The Motor Vehicle Exception
" ''FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin'', 74, Retrieved August 14, 2006 The exception is based on the idea that there is a lower

expectation of privacy In United States constitutional law, reasonable expectation of privacy is a legal test which is crucial in defining the scope of the applicability of the privacy protections of the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It is related to, ...

in motor vehicles because of the regulations under which they operate. Also, the ease of mobility creates an inherent exigency to prevent the removal of evidence and contraband. In ''

Pennsylvania v. Labron This is a list of all the United States Supreme Court cases from volume 518 of the ''United States Reports The ''United States Reports'' () are the official record (law reports) of the Supreme Court of the United States. They include rulings, ...

'' the US Supreme Court stated, "If a car is readily mobile and probable cause exists to believe it contains contraband, the Fourth Amendment permits the police to search the vehicle without more." The scope of the search is limited to only the area that the officers have probable cause to search. The area can encompass the entire vehicle, including the trunk. The motor vehicle exception, in addition to allowing officers to search the vehicle, allows officers to search any containers found inside the vehicle that could contain the evidence or contraband for which they are searching ('' United States v. Ross''). The objects searched do not need to belong to the owner of the vehicle. In '' Wyoming v. Houghton'', the US Supreme Court ruled that the ownership of objects searched in the vehicle is irrelevant to the legitimacy of the search. Some states' constitutions require officers to show there was not enough time to obtain a warrant. Except for states with that requirement, officers are not required to obtain a warrant even if it may be possible to do so. In '' United States v. Ludwig'', the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals found that a

is not required even if there is little or no risk of the vehicle being driven off. The court stated, "If police have probable cause to search a car, they need not get a search warrant first even if they have time and opportunity." In '' United States v. Johns'', the US Supreme Court upheld a search of a vehicle that had been seized and was in

police custody Police custody may refer to: * Arrest An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken in ...

for three days prior to the search: "A vehicle lawfully in police custody may be searched on the basis of probable cause to believe it contains contraband, and there is no requirement of exigent circumstances to justify such a warrantless search." The US Supreme Court in '' California v. Carney'' found the motor vehicle exception to apply to a motor home. The court, however, made a distinction between readily-mobile motor homes and parked

mobile home A mobile home (also known as a house trailer, park home, trailer, or trailer home) is a prefabrication, prefabricated structure, built in a factory on a permanently attached chassis before being transported to site (either by being towed or ...

s. A number of factors, including the home being elevated on blocks, the vehicle being licensed, and its connection to utilities determine if the motor vehicle exception applies. In ''United States v. Johns'', the motor vehicle exception was applied to trucks. In '' United States v. Forrest'', it was applied to trailers pulled by trucks and to boats. In '' United States v. Hill'', it was applied to house boats. In '' United States v. Nigro'' and '' United States v. Montgomery'', the motor vehicle exception was found to apply to airplanes.

Development

The motor vehicle exception has gone through five phases as marked by Supreme Court cases: *A. Early cases; ''

'' to '' United States v. Di Re'' and the requirement of exigency ::See also: '' Cooper v. California'' *B. '' Chambers v. Maroney'' and the relaxing of exigency ::See also: '' Preston v United States'', '' Dyke v Taylor Implement Mfg. Co.''; ''

Coolidge v. New Hampshire ''Coolidge v. New Hampshire'', 403 U.S. 443 (1971), was a United States Supreme Court case dealing with the Fourth Amendment and the automobile exception. The state sought to justify the search of a car owned by Edward Coolidge, suspected of ...

, Almeida-Sanchez v. United States, Cardwell v. Lewis'', '' Texas v. White'' *C. Automobile exception first applied to containers in '' Arkansas v. Sanders'' ::See also: '' United States v. Chadwick'', '' Colorado v. Bannister'' *D. Probable cause and containers -- '' United States v. Ross'' ::See also: '' California v. Acevedo'', '' Wyoming v. Houghton'' *E. The clearer movement toward automobile—exigency ::See also: '' Michigan v. Thomas'', '' United States v. Johns'', '' California v. Carney'', ''

Maryland v. Dyson This is a list of all the Supreme Court of the United States, United States Supreme Court cases from volume 527 of the ''United States Reports'': External links

{{SCOTUSCases, 527 1999 in United States case law ...

'' The vehicle exception does not include vehicles parked within private property where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy, which includes a home and its surrounding

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, defined by the Fourth Amendment, as determined in ''

Collins v. Virginia ''Collins v. Virginia'', No. 16-1027, 584 U.S. ___ (2018), was a case before the Supreme Court of the United States involving search and seizure. At issue was whether the Fourth Amendment's motor vehicle exception permits a police officer uninv ...

'' (2018). The Supreme Court also ruled in the 2017 case '' Byrd v. United States'' that the motor vehicle exception also includes those driving rental vehicles even if the driver is not listed on the rental agreement.

References

{{Criminal procedure * Vehicle law