Nickle said:
And, reference searches, that's a big can of worms. General rule is, the LEO has the right to search to ensure his own safety. That would include the area accessable to you while you're stting in the car.
No, an officer cannot search just to ensure his/her own safety, they still have to have probable cause. They cannot just say that they want to search your passenger compartment to feel safe.
In order for there to be a search, passenger compartment or not, they must either see something illegal, or have another legal reason, such as the vehicle description reported being used in a crime. Or, there is an "inventory search" in Massachusetts, which is required for liability reasonsons after a driver has been arrested, before the vehicle is towed. A list of contents is made so the driver cannot say that something was stolen out of the vehicle after it left his possession.
But, these rules do not apply to anything in plain view. It is legal, and totally expected, for an officer to look at the complete area, from the outside of the vehicle, to ensure there are no weapons or anything illegal sitting there in plain sight. It's unconstitutional for an officer to simply search a glove compartment, center counsel, or anything else, without probable cause, consent, or a warrant.
This even goes for searching a person. It's completely legal for an officer to do a "stop and frisk", also called a Torrey Search (named so from the Supreme Court case which decided it). This means that an officer can, for his/her own safety, "pat down" someone they come in contact with, for safety reasons only. They cannot go through someone's wallet, or even their pockets, unless they feel something from the outside which could possibly be a weapon.
