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CA5: General consent to search a car means containers and hidden compartments

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

General consent includes pretty much anywhere in the vehicle, including containers and compartments. United States v. Garcia, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 7659 (5th Cir. April 14, 2010): The scope of a consensual search may be limited by the expressed object of the search. Jimeno, 500 U.S. at 251. But where, as here, an officer does not express the object of the search, the searched party, who knows the contents of the vehicle, has the responsibility explicitly to limit the scope of the search. Mendoza-Gonzalez, 318 F.3d at 667. Otherwise, an affirmative response to a general request is evidence of general consent to search. Id. Garcia did not qualify his consent to the officers, who therefore had general consent to search the truck. General consent to search a vehicle does not, however, give an officer carte blanche over the vehicle...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on April 20, 2010 (boomark / email).