As a criminal defense trial attorney my clients are always asking me “when can the police search my car?”  The are several answers to that question but when looking at it from a traffic infraction only point of view the rules are very specific. 

A traffic infraction is any noncriminal ticket. 

A traffic ticket is sometimes called a Uniform Traffic Ticket (UTT) or a Simplified Information.  Those terms are common in Westchester, The Bronx, Orange and Rockland Counties although the paperwork may look different.  UTTs are most commonly issued for speeding, running a stop sign, failure to signal, illegal turn, no headlights and many others.  

An infraction is noncriminal as opposed to a suspended license (VTL 511) or DWI/DWAI (VTL 1192.2/3). Those are misdemeanors or even felonies.  

When a vehicle is stopped for a traffic infraction a police officer is NOT allowed to search the vehicle without some additional grounds for believing that a crime has been committed (People v Marsh, 20 NY2d 98).  The police may order a driver stopped for a traffic infraction out of a vehicle, but without some other probable cause the police can not search the vehicle. 

An example is if a police officer stopped a vehicle because the driver was not wearing his seatbelt (traffic infraction).  The police can check to see if the driver is properly licensed and the vehicle is properly registered/insured, but without more can not search the car.  The problem is that the police are always looking for criminal activity and if contraband such as a gun or drugs are in plain view that is a basis alone to search the entire vehicle.  Even if the officer smells marijuana they may be allowed to search the vehicle (People v Hanson 5 Misc.3d 67).

Most major arrests stem from simple traffic infraction stops.  As a trial and traffic viloation attorney in New York, I want to make sure your protected by understanding your rights.

Andrew Proto