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Not Readily Mobile

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By: Mike Stripe

There are certain cases in the criminal justice system where the circumstances are extremely unconventional and exigent i.e. extraordinary or unusual like the cases where the suspected vehicle in not readily mobile. Readily mobile vehicle means the vehicle, which is at the time in the running position, or it is able to move. A not readily mobile vehicle refers to the stationary vehicle or a position of vehicle in which it cannot move like if a car is surrounded or stopped by police or when there is no driver in the car. Here we would discuss three different situations where there was probable cause to search the suspected vehicle that wasn’t readily mobile.

1. In this situation, the police officer stopped a car, which was not following the traffic rules and asked the driver to give the license and registration number. When the driver was giving him the documents, the officer smelled a strong odor of drug. Not only this, the driver’s hands were shaking badly when he handed the documents to the officer. The officer checked that the car wasn’t stolen but the persons inside it had criminal records. So, that was the probable cause to search the vehicle. He called backup and then asked the defendant to search the vehicle but he declined. Due to his declination, the officer became definite that he was trying to hide something. When the other police unit arrived, they check the car, found the drug and defendants got arrested.

In this case, the car wasn’t in the readily mobile condition because the police had stopped it. And it was stopped not for searching but for a traffic ticket.

2. A more precise situation of searching a not readily mobile vehicle may come from this case. In this case, the car was standing in idle condition in a high-crime area. The police had already got some hint that a car similar to that one is missing and has some drug related objects. The police on finding the car standing there got suspicious and opened the car and searched it with the help of backup unit. During the searching the police had found 5 kilograms of marijuana, which was hidden inside the floorboard of the car and a pistol lying in the plain view at the back seat of the car. The police took the car into custody and pressed charges. This is a very precise condition of searching of a not readily mobile vehicle and it also had probable causes to search. First, the police had already the report of a missing car similar to that one and secondly the car was standing in a high crime area. Third, the evidence was found in the plain view of the police officers.

3. In this case, the police got suspicious of the car when it was broke a stop light. But then the car got parked in a neighborhood. The person got out of his car and walked towards his house but the police officer called him back and sensed a very strong smell of cologne and his nervousness. The officer was also aware of his previous drug trafficking record. The police called the backup, searched the not readily mobile car and found what they were looking for.

In this case also, there were probable causes to search the car when it wasn’t readily mobile, as no body was in the car and the ignition was not on either. The main cause of search was the smell that was indicated by the dog, which later on proved to be right.

Court of appeal second circuit state of Louisiana, 2003,

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