{"id":373,"date":"2018-05-08T14:04:13","date_gmt":"2018-05-08T18:04:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clearwatercriminallawyer.net\/?p=373"},"modified":"2026-01-31T09:30:47","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T14:30:47","slug":"supreme-court-explains-privacy-protection-in-rental-car-search-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.criminalattorneyclearwater.net\/blog\/supreme-court-explains-privacy-protection-in-rental-car-search-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Supreme Court Explains Privacy Protection in Rental Car Search Case"},"content":{"rendered":"

Search and seizure laws offer important protections to anyone suspected of or charged with a Florida drug crime or another crime. These laws set the ground rules for when police officers can stop a person on the street, pull over a car, or enter a home without a warrant. They also set strict limits on when the cops can search a person and his or her car and home. In a recent ruling<\/a>, the U.S. Supreme Court bolstered the privacy expectations that are at the center of many of these protections. The justices limited police officers\u2019 ability to search rental vehicles.The defendant was driving a rental car when police officers stopped him outside Pittsburgh. The woman who had rented the vehicle gave the defendant the keys to the car, even though his name wasn\u2019t on the rental agreement, and he wasn\u2019t authorized to drive the vehicle. State troopers searched the car\u2019s trunk, where they found 49 bricks of heroin and some body armor. They turned that evidence over to federal authorities, who charged the defendant with various drug crimes.<\/p>\n

A federal district court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit rejected the defendant’s argument that the evidence should be excluded at trial because it was obtained in an unlawful search. But the Supreme Court eventually sided with the defendant.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mere fact that a driver in lawful possession or control of a rental car is not listed on the rental agreement will not defeat his or her otherwise reasonable expectation of privacy,\u201d the justices explained in a unanimous decision.<\/p>\n

Continue reading \u2192<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Search and seizure laws offer important protections to anyone suspected of or charged with a Florida drug crime or another crime. These laws set the ground rules for when police officers can stop a person on the street, pull over a car, or enter a home without a warrant. They also set strict limits on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-drug-crime"],"yoast_head":"\nWhen Does Privacy Rights in Search Cases Matter?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Small details can matter in court. A illegal search issue can hinge on supreme privacy protection rental. 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