can the police search the contents of a purse without consent?
78973
Depends on the situation and you gave none, but yes they can under certain situations, to include you and your car.
566413
There are details here that you either do not know or did not post.  This might have been an unlawful search, or it might have been lawfully based on probable cause, depending on the fine details.\n\nIt also might not have been a search at all, if the kids voluntarily emptied their pockets at the *request* of law enforcement.  The potentially consensual aspect of this situation needs to be explored in greater detail.\n\nAlso, none of us, yourself included, know what the police knew when they walked up.  Odd that one of the kids just happened to have something illegal on him when the police just happened to show up, huh?\n\nYou need more info, and if your son is being charged with anything, you need to consult with an attorney.
922110
She can do.  Once you break the law, your life is not your own.  Your probation officer can come to your home at anytime and search it without warrant...
588083
No, a search warrant can only be granted for felonies.  An exception to this would be a search-incident-to-arrest.  But, the police cannot obtain a search warrant to search for evidence of a misdemeanor.\n\nLet me qualify with the majority approach.\n\nProbable cause exists where the facts and circumstances within the officers' knowledge and of which they have reasonably trustworthy information are sufficient in themselves to warrant a man of reasonable caution in the belief that evidence subject to seizure will be found in the place to be searched.\n\nEvidence subject to seizure is evidence of an offense.  \n\nOf course, the search warrant must be granted by a neutral magistrate after all of the other warrant requirements are met.  Whether a magistrate would grant a search warrant for a misdemeanor is another question.  It will depend on the jurisdiction.  But, as the other answers are indicating, the majority seems to be that any crime will satisfy the probable cause requirement of a warrant.
682430
Absolutely yes.  The locker is property of the school; it does not belong to the student.  Further, the school's responsibility to ensure the safety of all its students far exceeds its responsibility to protect the privacy of an individual student.  \n\nSchool administration absolutely is within its legal rights in searching not only lockers, but also backpacks and student clothing if it is justifiable.  Students' "rights" are not violated if the search is conducted with justification.  For students who feel that locker searches invade their privacy:  you should be glad that school administration cares enough about your personal safety to conduct these searches.  Further, if you have nothing to hide, what's the problem?
302019
In CA , if the police officer can develop probable cause, he can search your car. This was put in place due to the mobility of vehicles. They can simply drive away before you can get a search warrant.\n\nThe simplest example is the smell of pot. If the officer smells it, he can search anywhere in the car where the pot might be. Anywhere. \n\nAnother example is the plain sight rule. If the officer sees contraband in plain sight he can seize it and search your car for more. Anything else reasonably found during the search is also legally obtained.\n\nI don't know where the other posters got their information, but whether or not you are a minor has no bearing.\n\nAs for the cocaine issue, what crime did the driver get charged with? What are you talking about? If a passenger has drugs on them, it is possible that the driver could be charged for transportation of drugs. As for claiming they didn't know about the drugs, would it surprise you to know that people lie to the police??
963997
Unlawful search and seizure.
1006530
Yup! They sure can. Anything you put on the computer can be retrieved by a Pro. or the Police.
670468
That would be VERY difficult. If you knew someone in the Police system, you could find out.. Anothe way is to hire a private detective.. which, of course, costs some dollars.In all likelihood, the police will do nothing to help unless they can get money.. that is all the police are after also you know.
797785
Any time the officer has a reason to have you step out of the car, the officer can perform a limited search of you and your vehicle. That reason can be something as simple as you acting nervous, moving around a lot, suspicious hand movements, aggressive attitude, or even if the officer makes it a standard procedure on every traffic stop he/she makes.\n\nThe U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the officer has a right to ensure his/her own safety when dealing with any member of the public for any legal reason. That means any time that an officer comes into contact with a person on any type of police call: suspicous person, domestic disturbance, disorderly conduct, traffic violation, etc.\n\nAccording to the Court, the officer can conduct a "pat down" search of the person, checking for weapons. This means the officer can pat down the outside of person's clothing feeling for weapons. If an officer feels anything that, based on his/her training and experience, could possibly be a weapon, drugs, or other illegal item, the officer can then go inside the pocket to determine the true nature of that item. They are looking for weapons, but if they find anything else, it'll stick in court.\n\nThe officer is also allowed to conduct what is referred to as a "wing-span" search of the vehicle to check for weapons. This search covers any area of the vehicle that could be reached by any occupant of the vehicle. If there is more than one person in the car, this will pretty much cover the entire passenger compartment of the car. It does not, however, include a locked glove box or the trunk, unless the inside of the trunk was accessible to a person inside the car (such as if the back seat was laid forward, leading into the trunk). The officer is checking for weapons, but if they find anything else illegal, it will stick in court.\n\nSo to answer your question more simply, yes, a police officer can search your car.
939012
No, someone has to let them in, and if you refuse, it is your right, but they can stay there until they get a search warrant, just like if you get pulled over and they want to search your vehichle, (IF YOU ARE NOT HIDING ANYTHING) all you have to keep saying is \n"you may not search my car, it is my right!!\nIf they ask you why you won't let them, say it is my right, but if you have a blunt in your ashtray, they can go ahead and search it because propable cause
105967
not without a warrant, 4th ammendment:\n\nThe right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
1105291
yes, but you will need a warrant from the FBI or  a local law office.  This is considered private info. and there has to be a  legal reason for wanting it.
482332
Don't count on it. Basically, the only way that it (them going to jail) would happen is if someone either saw them take it, or saw them take the money out of it. They can say that there was no money in it when they found it, and that is usually going to be enough for reasonable doubt unless, like I said, someone saw them take either the purse or the money. \n\nYou can never mind the answer above if there was something identifiable [other than money] found on their person (not in the purse) when they were found.
894103
"When is a male officer allowed to touch a bare female breast in a arrest? i was put under arrest and a male officer touched my bare breast in a search... how is that right ? There was no female officer present."\n\nThere is no quick answer to your question.\n\nA law enforcement officer is empowered to conduct a quick "pat down" to ensure his own safety incident to a stop-- he doesn't even have to arrest you.  And there is no same-sex requirement for such searches in the eyes of the law.\n\nThat said, many police departments have regulations that call for same-sex officers to conduct searches whenever possible.  And searches incident to incarceration (that often involve a body cavity search) generally follow stricter guidelines.\n\nBut the power to conduct a search does not create the liberty to grope.  An officer searching a woman should feel under and between breasts (if they are large enough) using a scrunching motion of the hand (not patting) against the clothed body and along any undergarments that might hide something.  Squeezing the breast or touching the area around the nipple is generally not necessary-- although bulky clothing might require it.\n\nIf you were bare-- wearing nothing that could hide a weapon or contraband-- and the officer touched your breasts with his hands as part of the search (not just brushed against you), then you should file a complaint.  If you feel you have enough evidence to prove it, you might even consider filing a civil action in circuit court.  \n\n[This is not legal advice. You should consult a licensed attorney-at-law for legal advice or representation before making decisions that may affect your legal rights.]
185039
Your friend still has rights, but generally one of the terms that your friend may have agreed to as part of the agreement for probabtion is that the police can search without cause any time they want as often as they want. Your friend would be subject to the same type of "harrassment," as you put it, if he/she were in jail or prison. The purpose being that, while you friend is not in jail or prison, you friend needs to obey the law at all times to avoid being sent to jail or prison.
916359
Well, I'm impressed that you know what a wing-span search is. But, for those who don't, I'll give a bit of explanation before answering your question.\n\nThe U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a police officer can conduct what is called a "wing-span" search of a vehicle to protect their own safety. If a part of the vehicle can be reached by someone sitting inside the vehicle, the police are allowed to search it to ensure there are no weapons. This search is a search for strictly for weapons. However, if any evidence of a crime is found while the officer is searching for weapons, the evidence is admissable in court, as a by-product of a legal search.\n\nThe scope of a wing-span search is determined by several factors: 1. Size of vehicle. 2. Number of occupants in vehicle. 3. Size of occupants. 4. Position of occupants in vehicle. 5. Layout of vehicle interior.\n\nIn a small compact car, pretty much the entire inside of the car can be searched, even if there is only the driver in the car. But in a large SUV, that's not the case. If the only people in the SUV are in the front seats, then the police can search the front seats, under them, behind them, and to a point in the back where a person sitting in the front could reach. The back seats might be searchable, but behind them would not be. If there is someone sitting in the back, though, this area can be searched. Similarly, in a normal car, the trunk will not be searchable in a wing-span. But, if the back seat is folded down, or unlatched, allowing access to the trunk from the back seat, it could be a searchable area. Also on that note, an unlocked glove box is searchable, a locked on is generally not.\n\nIf a police officer finds any evidence of illegal activity, or something that gives him/her probable cause to believe a crime has been, or is about to be committed, then the officer can widen the scope of the search to include the entire vehicle. Many things can contribute to probable cause, and it can vary widely based on the circumstances.\n\nIf an officer searches a part of the vehicle that is not covered by the wing-span, and cannot articulate probable cause to have done so, then the part of the search that went beyond the bounds of the wing-span could be declared as illegal, and anything gained in those parts of the search would not be admissable in court. A judge is the only one who can officially determine whether the search was a legal or illegal one. If you feel like the officer did not have probable cause to extend the search, file a complaint with his/her supervisors and contact a respected civil rights attorney in your area.\n\nThe basis for a wing-span search was determined by the U.S. Supreme Court, so it is true in every part of the United States.\n\nP.S. - On a related note, and many police officers are not even aware of this, but the Supreme Court recently widened the scope of a wing-span search under a particular set of circumstances. If a police officer has legal contact with a person, the officer can conduct a pat-down search of the person. That has long been the case. But the Court has said that if the person is standing next to an unlocked vehicle, the police can conduct a wing-span search of that vehicle for officer safety, as it is reachable by the person within a few seconds. Seldom used, but good to know.