Is a past drug offense, and/or DUI grounds for probable cause to search a vehicle?

[Torgent]

The cops around here will tail you for a bit to match speed. And most won't even consider 5 over the speed limit as speeding since they do have bigger problems to worry about. (10 over the speed limit will get you cited here)
I myself was tailed for a stretch several months ago doing 5 over the limit because I knew he wasn't going to pull me over. And to be honest, I think he had places to be and would have preferred a faster pace. (Wasn't going to push it though.)

If he truly had places to be, he would of at minimum flashed his lights. Unless you meant he just wanted to be home lol.

[IIamaKing]

Why are you getting pulled over frequently enough for this to be an issue?

This is what I am thinking. Drive better.

[Torgent]

This is what I am thinking. Drive better.

But it's so hard!

[IIamaKing]

Then why was I searched while being the passenger of a vehicle and asked "where do you buy your weed?"

In the very post quoted this was answered.

You obviously look dodgy

[vindicatorx]

Is this legal for them to do?

They have to have a legal reason to stop you in the first place. Having a history isn't probable cause. When they pull you over what reason do they give? They have to have something. That and if they have no probable cause they can't search your property without your permission.

[Shadowferal]

If he truly had places to be, he would of at minimum flashed his lights. Unless you meant he just wanted to be home lol.

I think he was checking something at home.

But...not my business...

Had I got pushy going well over that speed limit, it probably would have crossed that line of obligation where he would have felt he had to pull me over.

[Torgent]

I think he was checking something at home.

But...not my business...

Had I got pushy going well over that speed limit, it probably would have crossed that line of obligation where he would have felt he had to pull me over.

I thought you mean that you thought maybe he was trying to get to a location silently. Officers around me do that occasionally and will flash their lights without siren in order to indicate that they need past. Typically this is done when they anticipate someone hiding evidence or reacting violently upon realization that police are there.

[Dys]

It's suspicion based on your record. You can deny the request for the search, if they are suspicious enough, they will bring out a drug dog to do a pass on your vehicle and go from there. Your record says Possession, not "riding shotgun in a friend's car that happened to have a roach in it." That's all they have to go on, and most cops will treat that as if its the worst it could be, simply because they don't know specifics and it's better safe than sorry.

The best thing you can do is talk to a lawyer and see what can be done about your record. With the way marijuana is becoming more and more accepted, you might be able to get your record expunged, or have some other avenues to take to make your situation better. Until then, you will have to deal with every cop asking you about weed because that's their job and you're marked as a guy with weed in their system.

[IIamaKing]

Someones look isn't probable cause.

In a legal sense? No. In reality, your look will ABSOLUTELY impact how you are treated at traffic stops. Clean cut looking? Good. Thug or hippie looking? Get preped to get searched.

[vindicatorx]

really? can you name the 11 U.S. presidents that smoked weed?

http://www.hightimes.com/read/11-us-...oked-marijuana

You are posting shit from high times? Yeah you must look like a junkie.

[Deleted]

Why not just refuse the search and record it? If they search anyway, stay out of their way but you can probably sue them cause a search without a warrant is still illegal.

[Torgent]

You are posting shit from high times? Yeah you must look like a junkie.

Well of course he does, he gets pulled over once per year and is paranoid enough to believe that the police are hunting him down and harassing him.

[Aleksej89]

You are asking is this legal but you have not specified in what country/state/continent/universe you live in...

And you would find a much more precise answer and much faster by googling your local law over internet.

[Shadowferal]

I thought you mean that you thought maybe he was trying to get to a location silently. Officers around me do that occasionally and will flash their lights without siren in order to indicate that they need past. Typically this is done when they anticipate someone hiding evidence or reacting violently upon realization that police are there.

*Nods*
I've seen that plenty of times..

For the sake of the thread, I think things are being blown out of proportion.

We get pulled over and we feel like we're being treated as some sort of bad hombre while the officer is ignoring the real criminal, driving with one hand on the steering wheel because his other hand has to hold back his pit bull on the passenger seat from spilling his cocaine all over the floor...but we're not bitter, right?

[Torgent]

*Nods*
I've seen that plenty of times..

For the sake of the thread, I think things are being blown out of proportion.

We get pulled over and we feel like we're being treated as some sort of bad hombre while the officer is ignoring the real criminal, driving with one hand on the steering wheel because his other hand has to hold back his pit bull on the passenger seat from spilling his cocaine all over the floor...but we're not bitter, right?

Hey, that's offensive. My pitbull holds me back.

[TITAN308]

"I do not consent to a search"

Then remain silent.

Now this is not going to stop them if that is there intent, but at least you've laid the ground work for a constitutional violation (if you are a US citizen).

[judgementofantonidas]

What? Is reading hard for you? I never said he was obligated to answer questions...

- - - Updated - - -

apparently it is for one of us. since I was agreeing with that part of your statement.

[Gandrake]

3. Not "Pretty much everyone" smokes. That's a echo chamber lie due to you surrounding yourself with people who do.
4. A cop pulling someone over going 10 over is well within what would be expected of them. Most cops give you a 5mph window, some more. It's called a speed LIMIT not a speed minimum (those exist too, but not as common).
5. If you are pulled over for speeding, you tell the truth. The officer already knows how fast you were going. Being honest will often allow you to avoid a ticket.

lets see when marijuana is legal. have you seen what it's done to Colorado? Its 2 thousand dollars a month for a 2 bedroom apartment there LOL

Not really. I pass cops going 10 over all the time. It's all about common sense though... You don't go 45 in a residential area. You don't go 65 down a winding country back road. You don't just say fuck it and go 50 through a school zone. You don't speed in the subdivision that states there is an additional $200 fine for speeding. You don't drive like a racecar driver in the rain.

I have been given a ticket every time I was honest. Sometimes officers just know you were going fast, they don't know how fast. So they make shit up.

One time I was weaving in and out of traffic and a cop stopped me. He tried to tell me I was going 63 in a 45. If I was going 63, I would have said fuck it and went 70. If he'd told me I was going 50, like I was, I probably would have owned up to it. I still had to pay the full amount of a reckless driving ticket but because I argued with him and told him there was no way in hell I was going that fast, it was reduced to speeding.

You can't let cops push you around today.

and you can evaluate my ability to operate a vehicle when you can handle one moving in excess of 100mph. Most wrecks actually occur at much slower speeds - take my friend for example, who just totaled his Honda Accord.

He was probably going the speed limit because he drives like a grandpa, but he ran into the back of a truck while he was searching for gummi worms... and changing the radio station. Every time I have almost wrecked, I was going the speed limit but got brake checked by an idiot.

Just last month I was driving the company truck to an event at a college. This Toyota Corolla just zooms out right in front of me from the right lane and slams on the brakes at a YELLOW LIGHT. A fuckin' yellow light. We JUST replaced the brakes, thank the god that I don't believe in.

Like god damn that dude doesn't know how lucky he is. If it was just the week before, the front end of that truck would have demolished his piece of shit corolla. On top of that, no one here knows how to use turn signals, so they just brake aggressively when they get to a turn they need to take and then turn on their turn signal. It's awful.

[Torgent]

apparently it is for one of us. since I was agreeing with that part of your statement.

Your first sentence is 100% irrelevant, then from there you build upon your tangent.Also, refusing a search is in no way probable cause. That's a pretty stupid statement lol.

[Deleted]

"I do not consent to a search"

Then remain silent.

Now this is not going to stop them if that is there intent, but at least you've laid the ground work for a constitutional violation (if you are a US citizen).

Yep, this, helps to record it too.