The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has decided the case of Commonwealth v. Alexander, holding that police generally need a search warrant in order to search a motor vehicle in Pennsylvania. In this case, the Court overruled the case of Commonwealth v. Gary, in which a plurality of the Court had recently held that police did not need a search warrant to search a car in Pennsylvania. This is an important decision and significant victory for privacy rights as it prevents the police from searching a car without a warrant. It makes it more difficult for the police to search a car based merely on a hunch as they must now go through the process of drafting an affidavit of probable cause and presenting it to a judge prior to searching a car. In some cases, this can be done telephonically, but Philadelphia typically does not have those procedures in place.

Do the police need a warrant to search a car for a federal case?

It is important to note that federal law and Pennsylvania law are now very different in terms of whether the police need a search warrant prior to searching an automobile. The United States Supreme Court has repeatedly held that the police and federal agents do not need a warrant prior to searching a car pursuant to the federal automobile exception. Instead, officers only need probable cause. This means that if law enforcement officers at the state, federal, or local level may search your car without a search warrant and then use that evidence against you in federal court as long as they had probable cause cause for the search. In federal court, it is still possible to challenge an illegal search, but the police do not have to get a warrant first. However, the vast majority of cases are prosecuted in state court. Therefore, this opinion will affect most people.

Can the police ever search a car without a warrant in PA?

Under this new case, however, evidence from a warrantless search may not be used against you in Pennsylvania state court unless the police either obtain a search warrant based on probable cause or have exigent circumstances which justify their inability to obtain a search warrant in a timely manner. Exigent circumstances are something like an emergency - it means that there was something about the situation that made the search urgent either due to officer safety concerns or concerns that evidence could be lost. If the police have exigent circumstances, even under Alexander, they do not need a search warrant prior to searching a car so long as they have also probable cause. But in general, police in Pennsylvania should now obtain a search warrant prior to searching a car in most cases. If they do not get a search warrant and find some sort of contraband or incriminating evidence, that evidence could be suppressed by filing a motion to suppress prior to trial. Much of the litigation will likely now focus not only on whether police had probable cause but also whether it was really an emergency that they search the vehicle prior to presenting a warrant to a judge.

Facing criminal charges? We can help.

It is also important to note that this case is likely retroactive - meaning that if you have charges pending against you from a search which took place prior to the case being decided, you may still be able to challenge the search based on this new case if the police did not get a warrant. Therefore, if you are facing criminal charges or are under investigation in Pennsylvania or New Jersey, you should speak with a Philadelphia criminal defense lawyer today. Call 267-225-2545 for a free criminal defense strategy session.