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 standard by which police authorities have reason to obtain a warrant for the arrest of a suspected criminal or the issuing of a search warrant. There is no universally accepted definition o ...

requirement of the Fourth Amendment to the

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and, when applicable, allows a police officer to

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motor vehicle A motor vehicle, also known as motorized vehicle or automotive vehicle, is a self-propelled land vehicle, commonly wheeled, that does not operate on rails (such as trains or trams) and is used for the transportation of people or cargo. The ...

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''. 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 law enforcement officers to conduct a search of a person, location, or vehicle for evidence of a crime and to confiscate any evidence they find. In most countries, ...

if they have

to believe that

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

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 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 United States Constitution. It is related to, but is not the same as, a ''right to privac ...

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'' 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 (

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). 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 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 into custody, the person can be questi ...

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 In criminal procedure law of the United States, an exigent circumstance allows law enforcement (under certain circumstances) to enter a structure without a search warrant, or if they have a " knock and announce" warrant, allows them to enter without ...

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

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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; '' Carroll v. United States'' to '' United States v. Di Re'' and the requirement of

exigency In criminal procedure law of the United States, an exigent circumstance allows law enforcement (under certain circumstances) to enter a structure without a search warrant, or if they have a " knock and announce" warrant, allows them to enter witho ...

::See also: '' Cooper v. California'' *B. '' Chambers v. Maroney'' and the relaxing of exigency ::See also: ''

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'', '' Dyke v Taylor Implement Mfg. Co.''; '' Coolidge v. New Hampshire, 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'' 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 curtilage, defined by the Fourth Amendment, as determined in ''Collins v. Virginia'' (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 United States Fourth Amendment case law, * Vehicle law