Legal Question in Criminal Law in Virginia

Alright so i got a question a few weeks ago i was in the car with my friend and my brother i had some pot on me well we where heading up to get some food from taco bell. Right before we turned in to the taco bell we got pulled over for one of his head lights being out. When the cops came to the car they told us why we were being pulled over and started to ask to search the car. My friend asked the cops "I have the right to say no you may not search the car right" and the cop said "yes you do" so he then told the cops that they may not search the car and they told us we had to get out one by one after that to search us. So they searched us and asked if any of us had any illegal substances on us we all said no of course. so after searching us they made us sit on the curb and wait there for about a hour well they searched ever little part of his car and found nothing. So after finding nothing they come back to us and search us once again. They first searched my friend and ended up searching everywhere on him even under his sack. So i was the second one to be searched and i ended up telling them that i had bud in my sock. They asked me if i had smoked at all that day and i did say yes. After that they asked if i had smoked in my friends car with him and my brother i told them no. They then put me in hand cuffs and made me sit back down and went on to search my brother. They asked my brother if he had any bud on him and he said no. They asked him if he had smoked with me that day saying that i told them i had smoked with him and my friend in his car earlier which was never said out of my mouth. After searching all of us for the second time about 45 mins had past by so by that time we had been outside in the snow for a hour and 45 mins. They then went back to my friends car and started to search the whole thing again to get any little thing they could on him. So by the time we ended with the search any everything else we had been out there for a little over 2 and a half hours. Now the weird part it the fact that his head light was out whats weird about that is the fact he had just got his car out of the repair shop that day and it had been there for about 2 weeks. And they did open the hood and mess with something around where the lights where they said they were looking for bud. When my friend brought his car back to the shop the next day they had said that his bulb was blown out. So my friend spoke with the police and they had said that his light was out when we turned that's why they pulled us over and when we parked it had turned back on. My question was is there anything i could do about any of this besides taking a charge like should i talk to a lawyer about this or not waste my time with it.


Asked on 2/03/10, 12:32 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
David Saiki Law Office of David M. Saiki

Based on what you are saying, you have a reason to fight this case. When the police stopped you for having a headlight out, they should have given you a ticket and released you. Any evidence they found after a search should be tossed out of court because it is suppressible. See my website for a definition of suppression of evidence. I would need more details to give you a more certain answer.

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Answered on 2/08/10, 12:48 am
Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

The problem with contesting this kind of charge under the circumstances described as suggested by Mr. Saiki is that one or more of the cops will likely contend(whether true or not) that they detected the distinctive odor of marijuana wafting out from the innards of the vehicle and therefore they had probable cause to search the vehicle as well as its occupants despite their objection.

Conviction thereafter is virtually assured.

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Answered on 2/08/10, 8:00 am


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