The motor vehicle exception is a legal rule in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

that modifies the normal

probable cause In United States criminal law, probable cause is the standard by which police authorities have reason to obtain a warrant for the arrest of a suspected criminal or the issuing of a search warrant. There is no universally accepted definition or ...

requirement of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and, when applicable, allows a police officer to

search Searching or search may refer to: Computing technology * Search algorithm, including keyword search ** :Search algorithms * Search and optimization for problem solving in artificial intelligence * Search engine technology, software for findi ...

motor vehicle A motor vehicle, also known as motorized vehicle or automotive vehicle, is a self-propelled land vehicle, commonly wheeled, that does not operate on rails (such as trains or trams) and is used for the transportation of people or cargo. The ...

without a search warrant.

Description

The motor vehicle exception was first established by the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point ...

in 1925, in ''

Carroll v. United States ''Carroll v. United States'', 267 U.S. 132 (1925), was a decision by the United States Supreme Court that upheld the warrantless searches of an automobile, which is known as the automobile exception. The case has also been cited as widening th ...

''. The motor vehicle exception allows officers to search a vehicle without a

search warrant A search warrant is a court order that a magistrate or judge issues to authorize law enforcement officers to conduct a search of a person, location, or vehicle for evidence of a crime and to confiscate any evidence they find. In most countr ...

if they have

to believe that

evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports this proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the supported proposition is true. What role evidence plays and how it is conceived varies from field to field. In epistemology, eviden ...

contraband Contraband (from Medieval French ''contrebande'' "smuggling") refers to any item that, relating to its nature, is illegal to be possessed or sold. It is used for goods that by their nature are considered too dangerous or offensive in the eyes o ...

is in the vehicle.Hendrie, E. (August 2005).
The Motor Vehicle Exception
" ''FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin'', 74, Retrieved August 14, 2006 The exception is based on the idea that there is a lower

expectation of privacy Expectation of privacy is a legal test which is crucial in defining the scope of the applicability of the privacy protections of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. It is related to, but is not the same as, a ''right to priva ...

in motor vehicles because of the regulations under which they operate. Also, the ease of mobility creates an inherent exigency to prevent the removal of evidence and contraband. In ''

Pennsylvania v. Labron Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Mary ...

'' the US Supreme Court stated, "If a car is readily mobile and probable cause exists to believe it contains contraband, the Fourth Amendment permits the police to search the vehicle without more." The scope of the search is limited to only the area that the officers have probable cause to search. The area can encompass the entire vehicle, including the trunk. The motor vehicle exception, in addition to allowing officers to search the vehicle, allows officers to search any containers found inside the vehicle that could contain the evidence or contraband for which they are searching ( United_States_v._Ross). The objects searched do not need to belong to the owner of the vehicle. In ''

Wyoming v. Houghton ''Wyoming v. Houghton'', 526 U.S. 295 (1999), is a Supreme Court of the United States, United States Supreme Court case which held that absent Exigent circumstance in United States law, exigency, the warrantless search of a passenger's container c ...

'', the US Supreme Court ruled that the ownership of objects searched in the vehicle is irrelevant to the legitimacy of the search. Some states' constitutions require officers to show there was not enough time to obtain a warrant. Except for states with that requirement, officers are not required to obtain a warrant even if it may be possible to do so. In '' United States v. Ludwig'', the

Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (in case citations, 10th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Colorado * District of Kansas * Distri ...

found that a

is not required even if there is little or no risk of the vehicle being driven off. The court stated, "If police have probable cause to search a car, they need not get a search warrant first even if they have time and opportunity." In ''

United States v. Johns ''United States v. Johns'', 469 U.S. 478 (1985), was a United States Supreme Court criminal law case holding that a three-day delay in searching a motor vehicle under government control did not violate the Fourth Amendment to the United States ...

'', the US Supreme Court upheld a search of a vehicle that had been seized and was in

police custody An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be questi ...

for three days prior to the search: "A vehicle lawfully in police custody may be searched on the basis of probable cause to believe it contains contraband, and there is no requirement of

exigent circumstances In criminal procedure law of the United States, an exigent circumstance allows law enforcement (under certain circumstances) to enter a structure without a search warrant, or if they have a "knock and announce" warrant, allows them to enter witho ...

to justify such a warrantless search." The US Supreme Court in '' California v. Carney'' found the motor vehicle exception to apply to a

motor home A motorhome (or motor coach) is a type of self-propelled recreational vehicle (RV) which offers mobile living accommodation. Features Motorhomes usually have sleeping spaces for two to eight people. Each sleeping space is either fixed or conv ...

. The court, however, made a distinction between readily-mobile motor homes and parked

mobile home A mobile home (also known as a house trailer, park home, trailer, or trailer home) is a prefabricated structure, built in a factory on a permanently attached chassis before being transported to site (either by being towed or on a trailer). Us ...

s. A number of factors, including the home being elevated on blocks, the vehicle being licensed, and its connection to utilities determine if the motor vehicle exception applies. In ''United States v. Johns'', the motor vehicle exception was applied to trucks. In ''

United States v. Forrest United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

'', it was applied to trailers pulled by trucks and to boats. In '' United States v. Hill'', it was applied to house boats. In ''

United States v. Nigro United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

'' and ''

United States v. Montgomery United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

'', the motor vehicle exception was found to apply to airplanes.

Development

The motor vehicle exception has gone through five phases as marked by Supreme Court cases: *A. Early cases; ''

'' to ''

United States v. Di Re United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

'' and the requirement of exigency ::See also: ''

Cooper v. California Cooper, Cooper's, Coopers and similar may refer to: * Cooper (profession), a maker of wooden casks and other staved vessels Arts and entertainment * Cooper (producers), alias of Dutch producers Klubbheads * Cooper (video game character), in ' ...

'' *B. ''

Chambers v. Maroney ''Chambers v. Maroney'', 399 U.S. 42 (1970), was a United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction ove ...

'' and the relaxing of exigency ::See also: '' Preston v United States'', ''

Dyke v Taylor Implement Mfg. Co. Dyke (UK) or dike (US) may refer to: General uses * Dyke (slang), a slang word meaning "lesbian" * Dike (geology), a subvertical sheet-like intrusion of magma or sediment * Dike (mythology), ''Dikē'', the Greek goddess of moral justice * Dikes ...

''; '' Coolidge v. New Hampshire, Almeida-Sanchez v. United States,

Cardwell v. Lewis Cardwell may refer to: Places Australia * Cardwell, Queensland United States * Cardwell, Missouri * Cardwell, Montana *Cardwell Hall, Kansas State University Canada * Cardwell Parish, New Brunswick People * Alvin B. Cardwell (1902–1992), Ame ...

'', '' Texas v. White'' *C. Automobile exception first applied to containers in ''

Arkansas v. Sanders ''Arkansas v. Sanders'', 442 U.S. 753 (1979), was a decision by the United States Supreme Court, which held that absent exigency, the warrantless search of personal luggage merely because it was located in an automobile lawfully stopped by the po ...

'' ::See also: ''

United States v. Chadwick ''United States v. Chadwick'', 433 U.S. 1 (1977), was a decision by the United States Supreme Court, which held that, absent exigency, the warrantless search of double-locked luggage just placed in the trunk of a parked vehicle is a violation of t ...

'', ''

Colorado v. Bannister ''Colorado v. Bannister'', 449 U.S. 1 (1980), is a U.S. Supreme Court case concerning the automobile exception to constitutional protections against searches and seizures. Facts In the early morning hours of October 15, 1979, a Colorado Sp ...

'' *D. Probable cause and containers -- '' United States v. Ross'' ::See also: ''

California v. Acevedo ''California v. Acevedo'', 500 U.S. 565 (1991), was a decision of the United States Supreme Court, which interpreted the ''Carroll'' doctrine to provide one rule to govern all automobile searches. The Court stated, "The police may search an automob ...

'', ''

'' *E. The clearer movement toward automobile—exigency ::See also: ''

Michigan v. Thomas Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and th ...

'', ''

'', '' California v. Carney'', ''

Maryland v. Dyson Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to it ...

'' The vehicle exception does not include vehicles parked within private property where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy, which includes a home and its surrounding

curtilage In common law, the curtilage of a house or dwelling is the land immediately surrounding it, including any closely associated buildings and structures, but excluding any associated "open fields doctrine, open fields beyond". In feudalism, feudal t ...

, defined by the Fourth Amendment, as determined in '' Collins v. Virginia'' (2018). The Supreme Court also ruled in the 2017 case '' Byrd v. United States'' that the motor vehicle exception also includes those driving rental vehicles even if the driver is not listed on the rental agreement.

References

{{Criminal procedure * Vehicle law