Questions:

• When is a police investigation considered a search?
• How private is your house or other dwelling?
• What is a search warrant and what does it take to get one?
• What are the police allowed to do after they obtain a search warrant?
• Do the police always need a warrant to conduct a search?
• Can my roommate -- or my landlord -- give the police permission to search my apartment?
• If a police officer pulls me over, can she frisk me or search my car?
• If my car is towed and impounded, can the police search it?

Answer:

If my car is towed and impounded, can the police search it?

Yes. If your car is impounded, the police are allowed to conduct a thorough search of it, including its trunk and any closed containers that they find inside. This is true even if your car was towed after you parked it illegally or if the police recover your car after it is stolen.

The police are required, however, to follow fair and standardized procedures when they search your car, and may not stop you and impound your car simply to perform a search.

To learn more about search and seizure, and all aspects of criminal law and procedure, see The Criminal Law Handbook: Know Your Rights, Survive the System, by Paul Bergman and Sara J. Berman (Nolo).