Legal Question in Criminal Law in Virginia

I live in Virginia which is a commonwealth state. I had a car accident and was taken to the hospital. Without my consent, the state trooper onsite searched my car and I was charged with Reckless Driving, Failure to maintain proper control of my vehicle, and possession of marijuana (a small bag that was inside the lower compartment of my cars console. I was not high or otherwise under the influence and was never asked to submit to a drug/sobriety test. In fact, the hospital was never asked to obtain a tox screen from me. I volunteered to have one done to submit as evidence when I go to court. It is free and clear of any illegal substance. My question is....did the officer have a right to search my car without my consent? What constitutes probable cause in this instance? Any information you can provide would be helpful.


Asked on 11/04/10, 3:18 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Erin Ranney Erin L. T. Ranney, PLLC

It depends on what basis that the officer searched your car. If the department had an established policy to inventory cars that are towed and they found the items pursuant to that inventory then it may be perfectly legal. There are several other circumstances that I can think of but they require additional information for me to assess the likelihood.

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Answered on 11/10/10, 1:51 pm


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