Pa. Supreme Court alters police rules for warrantless vehicle searches

[lager1829]

https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/penns...ab92c2445.html

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Pennsylvania's Supreme Court says police must have probable cause as well as “exigent circumstances” in order to legally search a vehicle without a warrant.

The divided court ruling Tuesday was based on an analysis that the state constitution’s privacy protections are greater than the U.S. Constitution’s. The court overruled its own 2014 decision that probable cause alone was sufficient, given that vehicles are inherently mobile.

Four Democrats voted for the more rigorous search standard, while the court's two Republicans and one Democrat dissented. The dissenters argued the 2014 ruling should remain in place.

[gnbrotz]

Means nothing.

Boilerplate language will be recited in the officer's report/testimony/"belief" and the new hurdle will be as easily cleared falsely as the old one.

[Calzonewdippingsauce]

The dissenters are statists and should be treated as such. I*m hoping that the lawyers will come along and explain what would constitute an *exigent circumstance* on a traffic stop. Is this a win for freedom? Or is it muddying the waters even further?

[MikeinPhilly]

The dissenters are statists and should be treated as such. I*m hoping that the lawyers will come along and explain what would constitute an *exigent circumstance* on a traffic stop. Is this a win for freedom? Or is it muddying the waters even further?

Banging from inside the trunk?

[mrg762]

Banging from inside the trunk?

Sad part is that phrase might be used to execute a search.

[Qtrborecrazy]

Banging from inside the trunk?

I don*t have a trunk on my pickup.

[mccula]

"Four Democrats voted for the more rigorous search standard, while the court's two Republicans and one Democrat dissented. "

The longer I live, the more I see through the thinly veiled excuse that one party vs the other is a "party of liberty". Neither party wants us to enjoy more freedoms. They just want more control. Statist pigs

[Yoder]

Now they just need to get rid of the unconstitutional DUI check points.

[Royinmontco]

Now they just need to get rid of the unconstitutional DUI check points.

Agreed.

[PAMedic=F|A=]

Should go back to the previous state requirement to have a warrant.