Federal Automobile Exception Won’t Apply to Motorcycles Because They’re Cooler Than Cars.

No, not really, but they are way cooler than cars.

The automobile exception was first established by the Supreme Court in 1925 by United States v. Carrol. The automobile exception allows a police officer to search a vehicle without a warrant as long as the officer has probable cause that evidence or contraband is located in the vehicle. The automobile exception to warrant requirements is based on several factors: the most important being the inherent mobility of automobiles.

Next week a Virginia man, Ryan Collins, will try to convince the Supreme Court that the automobile exception should not apply to a motorcycle that was parked in his driveway.

Collins has amassed an unusual collection of ‘friend of the court’ briefs supporting his position, filed by organizations ranging from the National Rifle Association to the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the American Motorcyclist Association.”

The NACDL Amicus brief can be found here.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has just decided the case of Commonwealth v. Loughnane, holding that the automobile exception to the warrant requirement does not apply to a car parked in a residential driveway. So it will be interesting to see how the Federal Supreme Court, which is more conservative than the Pennsylvania Supreme Court will deal with this development.

If you’ve been charged with possession of contraband taken from your vehicle in a car stop or while parked in your drive way, you need an experienced criminal defense lawyer to argue a motion to suppress for you. Call Troy R. Crichton at (267) 225-3317 today and ask him about filing a motion to suppress for you.