In what may be deemed as one of the most bizarre rulings against one’s rights, Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court has ruled that cops can now search your car without a warrant. Moreover, a new ruling may soon allow cops to arrest drivers who have “secret compartments” in their vehicles. Crazy, I guess the 4th Amendment means nothing in this country anymore?!
[Mercury News Excerpt]
–Reggie Shuford, executive director of the Pennsylvania ACLU, said he worries that killing the requirement for a search warrant eliminates an important check on police power.
“I think getting a warrant is significant because it is one more deterrent against bad police behavior,” he told PA Independent. “There was really no reason for the court to overturn the law. We have a long history of strong protections for individual rights in Pennsylvania.”
Some states have constitutional language requiring a warrant before a vehicle can be searched, but Pennsylvania’s does not. In the ruling, McCaffery said that has caused a wide range of confusing and contradictory rulings from state courts that have examined the issue.
“To provide greater uniformity in the assessment of individual cases and more consistency with regard to the admissibility of the fruits of vehicular searches based on probable cause, a more easily applied rule — such as that of the federal automobile exception — is called for,” he wrote.
In a dissenting opinion, Justice Debra McCloskey Todd said the court was “eviscerating” longstanding privacy protections by adopting the “diluted federal automobile exemption.”
“By so doing, our Court heedlessly contravenes over 225 years of unyielding protection against unreasonable search and seizure which our people have enjoyed as their birthright,” Todd wrote.
But law enforcement in Pennsylvania might soon get a gift from the Legislature, as well.
On the same day the Supreme Court ruling was announced, the House Judiciary Committee unanimously approved legislation making it a crime to possess a car with “secret compartments.” If the bill becomes law, anyone caught with such compartments could be charged with a first-degree misdemeanor and have their vehicle seized by police — even if the compartments hold nothing but air.
A conviction would carry up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.—
Do you think this is a fair ruling? Will Police officers target certain races/styles of cars amongst others? One thing is for certain, Pennsylvania prisons are about to fill up even more!
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