If you consent to a search for drugs or weapons, can an officer also searchyour wallet?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
If you consent to a search for drugs or weapons, can an officer also searchyour wallet?
An officer asked me if I had drugs or weapons. I said no and they searched me. They found a fake ID. I’m wondering if they have the right to search the wallet since you cannot conceal a weapon or drugs in there.
Asked on November 29, 2011 under Criminal Law, Illinois
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
If you have been stopped by law enforcement and you voluntarily give consent to be searched for drugs or weapons upon your person, law enforcement then has the right to pat search you and search through all articles upon your person including one's wallet to see if there are any drugs within the wallet.
If law enforcement by looking through your wallet in search of drugs happens to find a fake identification document in your wallet, then the discovery of the fake identification is allowable and admissible in court in that many times illegal pills, marijuana, cocaine and other illegal drugs are concealed in one's wallet.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.