Can a vehicle search be thrown out if I wasn’t there and my vehicle was searched?
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Can a vehicle search be thrown out if I wasn’t there and my vehicle was searched?
My son was pulled over and consented to a vehicle search where they found a small amount of his pot that he told them was there. However, the vehicle he was driving belongs to me. Does this mean he wasn’t able to consent because it wasn’t his vehicle or does that not matter because he was driving. My vehicle was impounded and he was arrested. He had requested to call me to come pick up the vehicle but the officer refused and said it had to be impounded. Which I don’t believe it to be true
considering it was parked in a residential area away from traffic. Now I can’t get my car out of impound. Was the impound and search done legally?
Asked on September 1, 2017 under General Practice, Texas
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
A permitted driver may consent to a search of a vehicle. If he was at least 18 (legally an adult), there is no doubt but that he could consent to the search, the same way an 18-year-old (or older) lawful resident of a home or apartment can consent to a search of it.
If he was a minor (less than 18), a court would look at the circumstances to see if he could reasonably consent. It is possible that a court would throw it out, but it's unlikely: if he is mature enough to drive and had use of your vehicle, so that he could, for example, invite others to enter or ride in it, it is very likely that a court would find he could consent. You could try to challenge it if he was a minor, but would need *something* showing he reasonably did not have the mental capacity or very clearly did not have (and the police should have understood him to not have) the authority to consent.
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