Philadelphia Criminal Defense Blog
When can police conduct an inventory search of my car?
There are real limits to when police can search your car. Learn more about police inventory searches and when police may tow and search your car.
Police Often Need Search Warrants
As a general rule, police officers need a warrant to conduct a search of a person or a place. However, there are a number of exceptions to the warrant requirement, and one of them is the automobile exception. When the police want to search a car, they do not have to get a warrant. Instead, under both Pennsylvania and Federal case law, police officers need only probable cause to search a vehicle. Probable cause is the same standard which would be required for a magistrate or judge to issue a search warrant, but the police are not required to swear out an affidavit of probable cause and get a judicial officer to sign off on a search of a vehicle prior to conducting the search.
What Is Probable Cause?
Probable cause means that it is more likely than not that evidence of a crime will be found as a result of a search. For example, police officers will frequently claim that they smelled an odor of marijuana coming from a vehicle and therefore had probable cause to search the car. Under the government’s theory, the fact that the car smells like marijuana makes it more likely than not that marijuana will be found in the car if the police conduct a search, and therefore the police may search the car. If that search turns up a gun, drugs, or some other kind of contraband, then the prosecutor will argue that the search was justified because of the initial smell of marijuana. Of course, when the police claim they searched the car because of the smell of marijuana and then do not actually find any marijuana, it may be possible to challenge the search by filing a motion to suppress and arguing that the police testimony is not credible.
Other Exceptions to the Warrant Requirement
There are other ways that police officers will try to justify a car search. When police stop a car and have a vague hunch but are lacking in probable cause, they may attempt to use a traffic violation or motor vehicle code violation as the basis for the search by having the car towed so that they can do an inventory search. For example, if the police pull over a car with an expired registration, they may decide to tow the car instead of simply parking it on the side of the road so that they can conduct an inventory search of the vehicle. If they find some kind of contraband as a result of the inventory search, then they may bring criminal charges against the owner or operator of the car and argue that the inventory search exception to the warrant requirement justified the search and eliminated their need to obtain probable cause in a warrant. However, many of these decisions to tow and search cars are pretextual.
Limits on Police Inventory Searches of Cars
Fortunately, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has held that the police may not tow a car and conduct an inventory search simply because the owner or operator has committed a motor vehicle code violation which prevents the car from legally driving on the streets. This means that the police may not tow a car and conduct an inventory search due solely to the fact that a car has an expired registration, lacks insurance, or has some other physical or regulatory defect. Instead, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has held that in order to tow a car, the police must be able to show that immobilizing the car and leaving it where it was parked would pose some kind of threat to public safety.
Commonwealth v. Laganella
In Commonwealth v. Laganella, Harrisburg police pulled the defendant over for pulling into traffic without using a turn signal. Upon pulling the car over, the police officer learned that the vehicle was missing its emissions inspection sticker and that the defendant’s license had been suspended. Instead of simply issuing a ticket, the officer informed the defendant that the officer would have to tow the car. The defendant stated that there was no need for the car to be towed and that he could have a friend, who was a tow truck driver, pick the car up. Nonetheless, pursuant to department policy, the officer called a tow truck and searched the car, eventually finding drugs and a shotgun. The defendant, who had a prior felony conviction, was then charged with drug and gun charges, including VUFA Sec. 6105 (felon in possession of a firearm). After the trial court refused to suppress the gun, the defendant was convicted and sentenced to three to ten years in prison.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ultimately reversed the trial court’s decision. The Court recognized that Pennsylvania law gives a police officer two options when the officer stops a vehicle operated by a driver whose license has been suspended: the officer may either immobilize the vehicle or tow the vehicle. If the officer is permitted to tow the vehicle, then the police may conduct an inventory search not for the purpose of finding contraband, but for securing the operator’s belongings for the benefit of both the operator and the police. However, Pennsylvania law provides that the officer may only tow the car when the vehicle poses public safety concerns warranting its towing and storage at an impound lot. Thus, if the vehicle can be safely parked or privately towed, then the vehicle will not pose public safety concerns which would warrant its towing. Further, when the police do tow a vehicle and conduct an inventory search, they must do so pursuant to a reasonable, standard policy of securing and inventorying the contents of a vehicle. The requirement that police have a standardized policy seeks to prevent police from using their ability to conduct an inventory search as a pretext.
In an earlier decision, the Pennsylvania Superior Court had held that the police may conduct an inventory search regardless of whether they choose to merely immobilize the vehicle or actually tow it. However, in Laganella, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court rejected this rule and held that police may only conduct an inventory search when they tow the vehicle. Because police may only tow the vehicle when there is a public safety concern, this creates a real limit on the ability of police to pretextually call a tow truck and conduct an inventory search. Thus, when the vehicle cannot be operated solely because the driver does not have a license or because the vehicle is missing its registration or insurance, the police may not tow the vehicle if the vehicle can be safely parked in the area where it was pulled over.
We Can Help With Criminal Charges in Pennsylvania and New Jersey
If you are facing criminal charges in Pennsylvania or New Jersey, we can help. We understand what you're going through, and we will use our skill and experience to get you through this. The Philadelphia criminal defense lawyers of Goldstein Mehta LLC will fight for your rights at trial or on appeal. Our attorneys have successfully defended thousands of cases in Philadelphia and the surrounding counties, and we can help with all types of state and federal charges in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. If you believe the police may have illegally searched you or your car and found some kind of contraband, we may be able to file a motion to suppress. Call 267-225-2545 for a free criminal defense strategy session with one of our award-winning criminal defense lawyers.
Potential Defenses to Gun Charges
Philadelphia Criminal Defense Lawyers for Gun Charges
We frequently help clients who are facing gun charges in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. In this video, Philadelphia criminal defense attorney Zak Goldstein explains three of the most common defenses to illegal gun possession charges. As a general rule, gun charges are particularly serious. They are almost always felony charges. In New Jersey, possession of a firearm without a permit carries a mandatory minimum of three years in jail even for a defendant with no prior record. In Pennsylvania, although there is currently no mandatory minimum for illegal possession of a firearm, the state sentencing guidelines typically call for jail time even for a first offense. Finally, in the federal system, gun charges carry extremely severe mandatory minimums.
Fortunately, there are a number of potential defenses to firearms offenses. Three of the most common defenses include:
Philadelphia Gun Charges Lawyer Demetra Mehta
Possession - All gun charges require the prosecution to show that the defendant actually possessed or owned the firearm. Depending on the evidence, the prosecution may not be able to show that it was actually the defendant's gun or that the defendant ever possessed the gun. In cases where the defendant is arrested with the gun in a pocket or waistband, possession may not be the strongest defense.
However, in cases where the defendant is not in actual, physical possession of the gun, the prosecution may not be able to prove possession. In order to prove possession of a gun that is not physically on the defendant, the prosecution will rely on the doctrine of constructive possession. Constructive possession requires the government to show that the defendant both had access to the gun and the intent to control it. This mean that it is not nearly enough for the government to show only that the defendant was found near a gun. This issue frequently arises in cases in which a person is stopped in a vehicle which turns out to have a gun in it. Without some additional evidence that the defendant both knew of the gun and intended to control it, the mere discovery of the weapon by the police may not be sufficient for the government to obtain a conviction.Suppression - In any case involving a possessory offense, the prosecution must be able to show that the police found the evidence in a lawful manner. There are real limits on the authority of the police to stop individuals and search their belongings, including their cars and their homes. If the police were required to obtain a warrant prior to the search and did not do so, or they had no real basis for stopping and searching the defendant, then it may be possible to have the evidence suppressed and excluded from trial. In a gun case, if the police stopped and searched the defendant without reasonable suspicion or probable cause, the gun could be suppressed and the case could be dismissed.
Operability - In Pennsylvania, many gun offenses require the Commonwealth to send the gun to a lab for ballistics testing in order to prove that the gun was in fact a real gun and that it was operable. Both VUFA Sec. 6108 (possession of a firearm on the streets of Philadelphia) and VUFA Sec. 6106 (possession of a concealed firearm without a permit) only apply when the defendant possesses a real, operable gun. If the gun is actually a BB gun or air soft gun, or it cannot be made to fire without substantial repairs or alterations, then these criminal statutes may not apply. Therefore, the Commonwealth will have to prove that the gun was real and operable. In some cases where a complaining witness or police witness testifies that they saw the defendant with a gun but the gun was never fired and ultimately never recovered, the prosecution may not be able to prove that it was actually a real gun. If they cannot, then the defendant could be acquitted at trial by a judge or jury. This rule does not apply to the felon in possession of a firearm statute (VUFA Sec. 6105).
We Can Help With Weapons Offenses in Pennsylvania and New Jersey
Every case is different, and there are numerous firearms offenses and other weapons offenses in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The statutes which often make carrying guns without a license illegal are often more technical and complex than one would expect. Although gun crimes and illegal firearms possession charges are extremely serious, there are often defenses to these charges. Our Philadelphia Criminal Defense Lawyers have the experience and skill to investigate your case, evaluate the evidence against you, and fight for the best possible result. Depending on your case, that could be a pre-trial dismissal, the suppression of incriminating evidence, an acquittal at trial, or a reduced sentence. Call 267-225-2545 for a free criminal defense strategy session with one of our Philadelphia gun lawyers.
PA Superior Court: If A Police Officer Says Stop, That’s A Stop
What makes an encounter with the police a stop?
The past few years have seen a number of questionable appellate opinions in which courts have suggested that a person may not necessarily be stopped for Fourth Amendment purposes even when a police officer orders the person to stop. Today, the Pennsylvania Superior Court clarified the obvious and reiterated what the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has already found: when a police officer says stop, it’s a stop. In Commonwealth v. Morrison, the Court ordered the suppression of a firearm, finding that a reasonable person would not feel free to leave after being ordered by police to stop.
Commonwealth v. Morrison
In Morrison, the defendant was arrested and charged with various gun charges, including VUFA § 6105 (persons not to possess firearms), VUFA § 6106 (carrying a concealed firearm without a permit), and VUFA § 6108 (carrying a firearm on the streets of Philadelphia). The defendant’s arrest stemmed from an encounter with Philadelphia police officers which took place in January 2015. The defendant moved to suppress the gun, arguing that police did not observe the gun in plain view until he had been stopped and detained without reasonable suspicion. At the suppression hearing, officers testified that they were on patrol in Philadelphia in police uniforms and a marked patrol car. At around 8 pm, they received a radio call from an unknown source which indicated that a nearby store had been robbed at gun point. The radio call described the robbers as two black males wearing black hoodies, blue jeans, and masks.
Five minutes later, the officers saw the defendant and another gentleman walking about five blocks away from where the robbery occurred. Although the defendant was a black male in a black hoodie, the defendant was not wearing the clothing described in the radio call. Instead of wearing blue jeans, he was wearing gray sweatpants. Nonetheless, the officers slowly approached the two men, stopped the police car about five feet away from them, and got out of the car.
After getting out of the car, one of the officers told the men to stop. The man who was walking with the defendant stopped, but the defendant did not. He appeared nervous, turned his back to the police car, and slowly walked away from the officers. The other police officer repeated the command to stop, and the defendant finally stopped. Notably, the defendant never attempted to run. Once he stopped, the officers ordered him to take his hands out of his pockets. The defendant did so, and the officers soon noticed the handle of a black handgun conveniently sticking out of the his pocket. The officers also left the information that the defendant supposedly turned and walked away from them out of the various police reports that they prepared.
Although the defendant did not match the flash description, the officers left key details out of the police reports, and the information provided by the radio call was entirely anonymous and unconfirmed, the trial court denied the motion to suppress the firearm. The court concluded that the interaction between the officers and the defendant did not rise to the level of a “stop.” Instead, the interaction was only a mere encounter. Further, the trial court concluded that the police had reasonable suspicion to stop the defendant because he partially matched the description in the anonymous radio call, appeared nervous, and attempted to walk away.
Standards for Police Encounters
On appeal, the Superior Court reversed. The court started by noting that there are three types of police encounters. The first of these is a “mere encounter” (or request for information) which need not be supported by any level of suspicion, but carries no official compulsion to stop or respond. The second, an “investigative detention” must be supported by reasonable suspicion; it subjects a suspect to a stop and period of detention, but does not involve such coercive conditions as to constitute the functional equivalent of arrest. An investigative detention is considered a stop, and it is commonly referred to as a Terry stop. Finally, an arrest or “custodial detention” must be supported by probable cause.
An investigative detention is less than the equivalent of an arrest, but it occurs when police take action which would make a reasonable person not feel free to leave. Although previous Superior Court opinions have implicitly suggested that an encounter may not be a stop solely because the police say “stop,” the Court in Morrison recognized the obvious: when the police tell someone to stop, no reasonable person in that position would feel as though they were free to leave. Accordingly, the defendant was clearly stopped as soon as uniformed, armed officers exited the vehicle and told the defendant to stop.
Because the defendant was stopped for Fourth Amendment purposes and subjected to an investigative detention, the police were required to have reasonable suspicion that the defendant was engaged in criminal activity. However, the Court found that the officers did not have reasonable suspicion because nervousness and slowly walking away from the police is not indicative of criminal activity. Further, the radio call did not provide the officers with reasonable suspicion to stop the defendant and recover the gun because the radio call was anonymous, unconfirmed, and lacking in detail, and the defendant did not even match the description in the call. The call indicated that the perpetrators of the alleged robbery were wearing jeans, and the defendant was wearing sweatpants. Therefore, the officers had stopped the defendant without reasonable suspicion prior to seeing the gun, making the gun the fruit of the poisonous tree. Accordingly, the Superior Court reversed the decision of the trial court and ordered that the gun be suppressed and excluded from evidence.
The Consequences Of An Illegal Stop
It goes without saying that courts are reluctant to suppress guns. However, when the police stop or search someone illegally, the Fourth Amendment requires that the evidence be suppressed, meaning that it may not be used at trial. Morrison reaffirms that in order to convict a defendant of possessing contraband like drugs or a gun, the prosecution must be able to show that the evidence was obtained pursuant to a legal search and seizure. Further, Morrison is important because it clarifies that a person is stopped when the police begin issuing commands like “stop” which would make a reasonable person feel that he or she was not free to leave.
Award-Winning Philadelphia Criminal Defense Lawyers
If you are facing criminal charges, we can help. Our Philadelphia criminal defense lawyers have successfully defended clients against gun charges, drug charges, and other possession of contraband cases in preliminary hearings, pre-trial motions to suppress, and at trial. Call 267-225-2545 for a complimentary 15-minute criminal defense strategy session with one of our award-winning defense attorneys.
PA Superior Court Reverses Order Granting Motion to Suppress For Lack of Specificity in Grounds
What is a Motion to Suppress?
The Motion to Suppress is one of the first lines of defense in any case in which the defendant is charged with possessing some kind of contraband. For a defendant who is charged with the possession of guns or drugs, it may be possible to have the evidence excluded from trial and the charges dismissed if the defendant was subject to an illegal search or seizure. In cases where the prosecution is unable to show that police or other law enforcement officers found the evidence in a manner that complies with the requirements of the United Sates and Pennsylvania Constitutions, the evidence could be suppressed by filing a Motion to Suppress. However, Pennsylvania appellate courts have increasingly required defendants to be very specific when asserting the grounds for the Motion to Suppress in the trial court.
Commonwealth v. Banks
In the case of Commonwealth v. Banks, the Superior Court has reversed an order suppressing a firearm and K2 (synthetic marijuana) whichallegedly belonged to the defendant. The Court concluded that although the trial court found that a constitutional violation had occurred, the defendant’s attorney failed to specifically allege that particular constitutional violation either in his written Motion to Suppress or oral statement of the grounds for the Motion which was made prior to the hearing. Accordingly, the Court found that the Commonwealth did not have a fair opportunity to respond to the alleged constitutional violation, and therefore the suppression order should be reversed.
Banks involved a parole search by Pennsylvania State Parole Agents. According to the agents involved, the Parole Board received an anonymous tip that Banks was violating his parole. Based on the tip, two agents went to Banks’ house and knocked on the door. When Banks emerged from the house, the parole agents questioned him on the front porch. They did not see any contraband in the house when the door was open, and they did not enter the house until after they spoke with Banks. Of course, when the agents asked whether Banks had anything in his house which would violate his parole, Banks freely told them that he had a gun and some synthetic marijuana in the house. Following Banks admissions, the agents entered the house and found the contraband. They then called the police. The police obtained a search warrant and recovered the items.
Standards for Probation Searches and Parole Searches
In Pennsylvania, probation officers and parole agents may conduct two types of searches. They may always make routine home visits in order to check on the probationer or parolee and look for any obvious parole violations. Home visits are limited to a plain-view inspection of a residence. Additionally, if they have reasonable suspicion of a parole violation, then parole agents may conduct a full search of the parolee’s residence. In general, anonymous tips do not provide reasonable suspicion because there is no basis for believing them to be trustworthy. Therefore, Banks’ attorneys filed a Motion to Suppress alleging that the firearm and K2 should be suppressed because the parole agents conducted a home search without reasonable suspicion. They further argued that the search was not part of a routine home visit because the agents went out to the house specifically to investigate the anonymous tip.
The trial court disagreed with Banks’ lawyers in part. The court found that the agents violated Banks’ rights, but for different reasons than those alleged in the Motion to Suppress. It found that the agents did not conduct a home search until after Banks confessed to having a gun and synthetic marijuana, and once Banks confessed, the officers clearly had reasonable suspicion to enter the house. However, the court found that the officers conducted the equivalent of a “Terry” stop on Banks by ordering him to come out of the house and submit to their questions. Therefore, the officers were required to have reasonable suspicion for the stop. Because the stop was based entirely on an anonymous tip, the officers did not have reasonable suspicion, and the contraband that they found was the fruit of the poisonous tree and should be suppressed.
Specificity in Motions to Suppress
On appeal, the Superior Court reversed. The Superior Court found that Banks’ lawyers had failed to comply with Rule 581(D) of the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure. Under the rules, the defense must “state specifically and with particularity the evidence sought to be suppressed, the grounds for suppression, and the facts and events in support thereof.” In their written motion and subsequent oral grounds, the lawyers mentioned only the suspicion-less search of the residence. They never made any allegation that the interrogation on the porch was conducted without the requisite level of reasonable suspicion. Therefore, the Superior Court held that the Commonwealth was not properly on notice of the grounds for the motion and did not have a fair opportunity to respond. The Court reversed the granting of the motion and remanded the case for trial. It is unclear whether Banks will be able to amend the grounds and re-litigate the motion in the trial court. However, his lawyers will almost certainly try.
Banks is highly illustrative of the fact that the Superior Court is not currently very sympathetic to criminal defendants. The case also shows the importance of litigating in the trial court with a careful focus on the Rules of Criminal Procedure and an eye on making sure that the defendant’s rights are protected in the event of an appeal by either side. If an appellate court can avoid a difficult issue such as whether a gun was properly suppressed by finding waiver on the part of the defense, an appellate court will often do so. Judges do not want to suppress guns, and they will look for ways to avoid doing so. Therefore, it is important to make sure that all possible grounds for a motion to suppress are covered both in the written motion and orally prior to trial. It is also critically important to take all possible steps to protect the record for appeal, which means making appropriate objections and motions so that they are not waived in the event the defendant is convicted at trial.
Award-Winning Philadelphia Criminal Lawyers
Criminal Defense Lawyers Demetra Mehta and Zak Goldstein
If you are facing criminal charges, we can help. Our Philadelphia criminal defense lawyers have successfully represented thousands of clients in both trial and post-trial proceedings. We have won motions to suppress guns, drugs, and other contraband. We will do everything we can to fight for you and obtain the best possible result at trial or on appeal. Call 267-225-2545 for a free criminal defense strategy session today.