Chalking a Tire Is an Unconstitutional Search

Chalking a tire to determine how long a car has been parked was ruled to be a search in violation of the Fourth Amendment. The Sixth Circuit in Michigan ruled that a search occurs when the government: (1) trespasses upon a constitutionally protected area, (2) to obtain information.

Chalking a tire constituted a common law trespass because parking enforcement officers made intentional physical contact with the property of another when it placed a chalk mark on the tire. This intrusion, though minimal and not resulting in damage, was a trespass nonetheless.

Furthermore, the trespass was “conjoined with . . . an attempt to find something or to obtain information” in that the purpose of the chalk marks was to identify vehicles which had been parked in the same location for a certain period of time. That information is then used by the City to issue citations.

Not all warrantless searches are unconstitutional, only unreasonable searches. The court ruled that the vehicles were parked legally, there was no probable cause probable cause to believe that the vehicle contained evidence of a crime” or even an “individualized suspicion of wrongdoing.” Consequently, the automobile exception did not apply nor was there a reduced expectation of privacy.

The Community Caretaker exception to the warrant requirement also was inapplicable since the purpose of chalking is to raise revenue, and not to mitigate public hazard and no injury or ongoing harm to the community at large would result by a lawfully parked vehicle in a proper parking location.

So if you are lawfully parked but exceeding the allotted time on the sign, the parking enforcement cannot chalk your tires to determine whether you have exceeded the prescribed time. If they do, challenge it as an unconstitutional search and cite Taylor v. City of Saginaw (US Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit, 4/22/2019)

ONLY A LITTLE BIT ILLEGAL

When Justice Thomas is the author of a criminal opinion, you can be sure that it will not benefit the defendant and he does not disappoint in Utah v. Strieff. The reason this opinion is so bad is that it rewards the police for violating an individual’s constitutional rights. Here, even though the police officer had no right to stop Mr. Strieff and would not have known that an outstanding arrest warrant existed had he not made the illegal stop, methamphetamine recovered was admitted as evidence.
To understand why this is such a bad opinion, you need to understand the Exclusionary Rule. The Exclusionary Rule states that if the search or seizure is illegal then anything found can’t be used in trial except when:
1) The police would have found it anyway (Inevitable discovery)
2) There was an independent source which was completely separate from the illegal search or seizure, or
3) The connection between the misconduct and the evidence was weakened by time or intervening circumstances.
Here, Justice Thomas selected door #3, the Attenuation Doctrine. But the illegal stop was only minutes before a warrant check and subsequent search– so this doesn’t really make sense. So anytime a valid warrant exists, Strieff will be cited for the proposition that the illegal stop was only a little bit bad and after all, there was a preexisting valid warrant and the guy had drugs on him anyway. So I guess that makes it okay.

What or who can be searched when your car/the car you are in smells of marijuana?

Assume that there is a valid reason for the car you are in to be pulled over: speeding, registration etc. The car has the lingering odor of marijuana. What/who can be searched?
In State v. Pigford (Aug. 2, 2106) NC Ct. of Appeals (COA 15-1047), the court ruled that the odor of marijuana emanating from inside a vehicle does not provide an officer with probable cause to conduct an immediate warrantless search of the driver.
What does this mean?
If the car just smells of marijuana but no particular person reeks of marijuana, the car can be searched as can items which could contain marijuana but occupants of the car cannot be searched.
BUT, if an occupant of the car has a very strong odor of marijuana on his body, that person could be searched but no one else.
AND if during the search, contraband (illegal items: drugs, guns…) is found and supports the arrest of an occupant of the car, that person can be searched (as part of the arrest for possession of that contraband) but no one else can be searched.
WHAT??? I can’t keep all this straight?
Search and seizure law is tricky. Let your lawyer argue that there is no probable cause BUT don’t undermine your case by giving consent to search. If you consent, it doesn’t matter that the evidence would have otherwise been suppressed or excluded. Just know that there are many permutations of the law and it is very fact specific. So even if the car you are in smells of marijuana, it doesn’t give the police the right to search your person. The Constitution provides more protection for searches of people than of property.