Legal Question in DUI Law in Virginia

Seach of cooler at state park beach

Over the weekend while at a state park beach in VA, I saw an officer confront a group of women and later confiscate all of the containers from which they had been drinking. I was unable to hear the conversation, but from what I saw the women were convinced somehow to turn over everything they had brought with them. They were later fined for having alcohol on the beach (which is prohibited, according to the officer...I had no idea.) I had a cooler with me, although no alcohol this time. This got me wondering what my rights were if the officer approached me and asked to inspect the cooler. My questions are 1) what if I refuse? what are my rights and what is the proper way to do this without giving the officer probably cause to inspect anyway? 2) suppose I did have alcohol in the cooler (assume no beer cans/etc. in plain sight), refused the search, said we didn't have anything, then later was found to have alcohol? Does misleading the officer make the offense worse? The whole process with the group of women I watched that day took about a half hour and, lets be honest, ruined the day for a small group that was not unruly, just minding themselves, and probably didn't even know about the rule.


Asked on 5/28/07, 9:24 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

Re: Seach of cooler at state park beach

Unless the officer had probable cause to search the closed cooler, meaning he allegely smelled alchol upon your person or espied a discarded beer can nearby or other indicia of the possible presence of alcohol within the closed container cooler, he would not have legal cause to search your closed cooler absent your permission to do so.

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Answered on 5/28/07, 9:41 am


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