If I am a convicted drug offender does that give police the right to search me on a routine stop?
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If I am a convicted drug offender does that give police the right to search me on a routine stop?
We’re stopped outside of a of a store
the other night they asked for our
names and we gave it to them without
any hesitation. Then they ran my name
and even though it came back with no
warrants I’m not on parole or probation
and we were just walking through the
parking lot minding our own business
they insisted on searching me because
my record came back that I am a
convicted drug offender. Do they have
the automatic right to search me
because of my past and what my record
says about me?
Asked on April 6, 2017 under Criminal Law, Florida
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
No, they do NOT have the right to search a person due to a prior criminal record without either 1) a warrant, or 2) some evidence of ongoing criminality (the smell of drugs on you; a glimpse of suspicious baggies or a weapon on your person; etc.) which would justify a warrantless search due what was in plain sight or sense. A person's past can figure into a warrant request--i.e. it can help persuade a court that, together with other reasons to be suspicious, there is "probable cause" of wrongdoing--but by itself, never justifies a search.
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