Passenger Rights in a Car Pulled Over By Police - Lehto's Law Ep. 5.73

hello welcome what's gonna Latos allah i'm steeve lady till today we talk about what your rights are as the passenger in a vehicle that gets pulled over by the police not too long ago i did a video about what happens at the roadside what your rights are when you get pulled over as the driver of a vehicle and that allowed a lot of people to the obvious next question what happens if you are the passenger in that car do you have the same rights do you have different rights you have expanded rights so we're gonna discuss that today case you're curious a lot of this stems from the Fourth Amendment and the Bill of Rights which says you have the right to be secure in your person and so on against unreasonable searches and seizures against unreasonable searches and seizures and I have to point out as an attorney that the word unreasonable isn't there for a reason that means that the police can occasionally do a search or seizure that's considered reasonable that's not a violation of the Fourth Amendment don't argue to me about that it's true so here's we're talking about you're driving along and you're the passenger in a vehicle you could be in the passenger seat you could be in the backseat if there is one and the police pull over the vehicle you're in but you are not the driver the first thing you've to remember is that yes you have now been seized okay and and this is true the driver as well you are both now subject to a seizure you're both the side of the road the police have detained you temporarily for whatever reason okay the first thing you need to know is that as the passenger you have every right to challenge that stop just as much as the driver does so let's suppose something happens during the stop that is unlawful or you believe it's unlawful even if the driver decides not to fight it you can okay if in fact there's some reason for you to do so like so in other words you get pulled over a side of the road you're the passenger in the vehicle and somehow you wind up getting arrested but your driver doesn't doesn't matter you can still fight this because your rights are just as important even though you're not behind the wheel of the vehicle so you're the right to challenge the legality but that's going to come later so when they pull the car over obviously they're pulling over everything in the car including other people including passengers so your rights as a passenger okay are the same as the driver so you have the right to be free from unreasonable illegal searches which I just told you about you have the right to remain silent okay and we'll talk within a second you're the right to challenge the legality the stopping court like I said and the right to challenge the legality of any searches in court as well now the right to remain silent is something that I think is is much different for a passenger than it is for a driver because when a police officer pulls you over and you're driving and the police officer walks if your witness starts talking to you we've all seen the videos on the internet where a driver literally just sits there and and and and then you know says the camera I'm not going to answer the questions because that would be you know a violation of my Fifth Amendment rights to you know remain silent and you know and and arguably you can take that position but the question is really if a police officer walks up and says you know may I see your driver's license you know you handing the driver's license to the police officer is probably required by your state law and that's really not interrogation for you no driver's license okay but here's the interesting thing let's let's let's say this traffic stop happens where you're in the passenger seat drivers in the driver's seat two police officers walk up up on both sides of the car and the windows happen to be down police officer asks the driver may I see your driver's license police officer on the passenger side says to you anything who are you may I see your driver's license you have the absolute right to just sit there and I would argue and say that that that while I would suggest the driver may have some things to say to the police officer you as a passenger are certainly within your rights to just look at the cop and just no no there's nothing there's nothing to talk about because as far as you know it just appears to be a random tour a routine traffic stop and the police officer stopped the vehicle because if anything of the way it's being driven and you as a passenger I've got nothing to do with the way it's being driven and so there probably isn't any legitimate reason for them to speak to you unless they can identify one I explain to you why they want to know something so we'll get that a second but you know here's the thing police officers and again I know some people don't like me admitting this but I think police officers do an important job in our society and there are people out there who just view the police as the enemy like it's just our job to mess with the police make their job as hard as possible if you want to do that go through life that way that's fine but you know when I interact the police I try to be polite as long as I think it's a reasonable interaction you know obviously if a police officer kicked in my window right now and attacked me that wouldn't be a reasonable thing but if a police officer - what were to walk up my door knock and the door to ask me a question that that I made you know made sense to me I'd answer it ok that's that's fine I I don't start from the position that the police are wrong I start for the position that I'm gonna watch how this unfolds and give the police officers the benefit of the doubt because he's got a job to do and while people go he's you know he works for me I'm his boss yes he works for you he's being paid to work for you to do a job so let's assume the vehicle gets pulled over for the police officers doing his job or her job ok you need to know for instance that if you're alone in the car and a police officer walks up to the car and is about to you know ask you if your driver's license because you're speeding and then sees you know a couple open beer cans like in the center console which are obviously or let's say beer bottles you can actually see that it's open and half empty and there's moisture outside indicating it's cold ok it's even open and toxicant in the car ok now that's that's against the law in many states ok I hope you know that so if if you're the driver and and that's next to you you're gonna you're gonna get stuck with that you can't say oh you know I picked up a hitchhiker a while back he brought that in the car and then he got out you didn't take it with him oh my gosh I would they get there I don't police aren't gonna buy that and and and you shouldn't be trying to sell it but if you are the passenger in a car okay more often than not the things in the car are still kind of tied to the driver now it's true that if the police officers pull you over and the driver is sitting there sober as a Churchmouse and you're in the passenger seat you know smoke and crack and mainline in something that's not medicinal there's a chance that the police officer could go hey you know something I need to talk to that passenger but what what he's doing right there if in fact that's illegal but generally speaking things in the car are often kind of charged to the driver unless there's an obvious connection but like so for instance let's salute suppose the police officers actually somehow open the trunk of the car up for whatever reason the odds that you as a passenger are gonna get in trouble for it in the trunk of the car that's owned by the driver it's probably not gonna happen but keep that in mind that you know stuff that's underneath your seat if it gets to that you know somebody might go gee did you know that was under your seat don't answer that question Fifth Amendment but my point is I'm simply raising the issues here so passengers generally are not held to that standard with respect to things in the car now remember that as a passenger police officer walks up and starts talking to you you can talk if you want to I've made small talk with cops before in different settings but you know you don't have to and and as a passenger I don't think you're doing anything wrong if you just say you know I don't feel like talking I'm sorry you know leave it at that however here's a question suppose a police officer walked up the passenger side and said you know something we're about to breathalyze your driver you want to blow a breathalyzer - here's the problem if in fact the police pulled the car over because of scene doing something an indicator is being driven by a person who's intoxicated or otherwise illegally impaired the fact that you're in the car if you aren't the one driving means that you couldn't have contributed to the reason that you were pulled over so you have no reason under those facts to submit to anything keep in mind that in some states you are not allowed to refuse breathalyzers or some field sobriety tests or or so on and so if you are in a state where you have that law on the books if you're the driver absolutely if they say get out of the car right now you're doing a field sobriety test you have to make a decision and and you might break the law if you say no but if you're the passenger and the police pulled you over because the car was doing this down the road and you were in the passenger of the backseat and they say we want to test you absolutely not now here's the thing if you say no and they and they use some coercion to force you to do it that's when you're gonna wind up in court later and fight it and say look I didn't consent to that I didn't agree to that you know but but you know they they they they've they pressured me into it after I repeatedly said I you know I don't want to do this I think this is wrong one of the things I do at the point out though is how often people tell me that they understand the law they don't like what happens the roadside and they sit there in the argue with the police about it and that's one of the things that makes those videos so comical about the people at the side of the road who are arguing about things like driver's license they're just traveling versus driving this one is that they think that they can win a legal argument with a police officer well the police officer is there to enforce the law and possibly hand you a ticket for an infraction the place to argue that would be in a courtroom okay and so if any of this stuff happens to you as a passenger that's wrong then you might wind up in a courtroom later fighting it but if for no other reason then the car got pulled over because it's woven down the road if the police options by the way you I want you to do a field sobriety test at that point I'd say no I don't think I have to I'm a passenger I would decline that at this time now here's the thing as an attorney I I tend to think this way and I've seen people on the internet who say there is never a circumstance where a passenger could be asked to blow a breathalyzer legally there's never circumstance and I always say well let me let me give you a hypothetical looks like I can come up with hypotheticals and I can almost beat I can beat almost anything you say is impossible I'm joking it's hyperbole but let's suppose that you're driving down the road one day and you're swerving all over the place because you're drunk cop pulls you over and you're pulling over the side of the road in the cop leans over looks and sees it sitting the passenger seat is an eight-year-old boy and he's wearing a seatbelt improperly eight-year-old boy and his eyes are doing this and his eyes are glassy any reeks of alcohol because he's been drinking - thanks eight-year-old kid I think at that point a police officer would be within his rights to say I think we need to have the passenger breathalyzer now I understand right now there's probably somebody ethical I know Steve as a passenger you can't make it ah yeah cross that bridge when we get to it but generally speaking and I found this on a website that says do you have a right to refuse alcohol or drug testing the passenger's intoxication is it relevant to an investigation where they're investigating the driver being impaired so that makes sense but like I said there can be situations where it could happen highly unlikely but it could be possible now here's here's the thing I've had people say they say Steve police pull the car over I'm the passenger and the cops are giving the driver a hard time drivers giving the cops a hard time or whatever and I'm just sitting there and I go wait I'm being detained am I free to go if you want to you can ask the police officer say excuse me am I free to go now here's the funny thing the police after my saying shut knock yourself up start walking that's the problem you're sitting in your ride the cars not free to go because the driver and the car been detained and although you have been detained if the police officer says you know something you're free to go go go that you'd rather have you not be here go fewer witnesses you can ask am I free to go but the question is if the cop says yeah you're free to go and you don't leave what did you accomplish um I also have to point out that even on websites by attorneys who defend cases brought by citizens against the police they will tell you that even if you hate the cops even if you think that they are doing everything wrong even you think it's your job to fight with them every turn you still will get farther if you are at least polite and respectful so if you get pulled over and you're the driver I've already suggested you should people white in an attempt to get the ticket reduced yards big ticket but I think as a passenger you should probably be polite also if you want to you knew the Fifth Amendment to say it's my right you could also be polite and just tell the officer say you know it's my Fifth Amendment sorry I just rather not talk to you that's fine but being polite goes a long way in our society but keep in mind you should never do anything it construed as interfering with the investigation so let's suppose the cop walks up to the driver and says may I see your driver's license and registration please and you leaned over and put your hand and your friends arm and say don't give that to him you don't have to do that now you might be right that he doesn't have to do that or she doesn't have to do that but is that your job at that point in time to be telling them how to interact to the police officer because there's a chance so the police officer Michael wait a second I'm not talking to you in the passenger seat I'm talking to the driver in the driver's seat what are you even doing interfering with this is that interfering with the police officers job I'm not saying it is okay but the problem is if it's perceived that way by the police officer it's not gonna make things go easier for either of you um even if you think that you're being treated unfairly okay let's suppose it you realize if the police officer is not looking and you very quietly open your door somehow I suppose the don't lights burned out you open your door and you take off running and you go I'm not being detained ah you know driver was pulled over cop never said a word to me and you take off running okay I know what you're gonna say you're 60 this is America I've got the right to run anywhere I want whether I'm running from a receipt checker at Walmart or running from an unlawful stop at the side of the road yeah you have the right to run you've got the right to do that I suppose but of course you're gonna make a police officer think you're acting suspiciously again is he right to think that is she right I'm not saying they are I'm just trying to give you advice here and if you want to ignore it feel free but if you fall advice your life will actually go easier and by the way the same things I talked about making a traffic stop go well apply to a passenger so let's suppose you get pulled over you're the passenger driver pulls the car over and you say quick turn the dome light on put your window down put your hands in the wheel this will go faster and let's suppose your friends do it okay and does all those things that applies to you too so if you're in the passenger seat don't start digging in the glovebox don't start digging around underneath the seat don't think that that's a good time to lean over the backseat and start cleaning your weapon which you legally have on you okay somehow okay the point is that's not the time to do it so you follow the same instructions as a passenger that you should as a driver are you legally required to no but I'm just saying to try to make these things go smoother if you are in the passenger's seat and a police officer asks you a question if you don't want to answer him or I would suggest you ask why are you asking me that am i under suspicion for anything because arguably there are situations where you could be let's suppose the police got a call that said there was a holdup at a gas station five miles back on the interstate and it was in a car of a fairly common description there's two people in it and we think they're both men then police pull you over and you're a man as a passenger in a car with another man and you actually fit the description of these robbers that's possible so when you're sitting the passenger seat and police officer walks or starts asking you questions you can say excuse me sir am i under suspicion of anything and if he says no you say okay I'm sorry I just don't make small talk that's fine but if he says actually yes we're conducting an investigation can I ask you some questions at that point if he's conducting investigation he has got the right to ask you questions now you have the right to not answer those questions but I've had people say under no circumstances you've ever talked and because they don't you have a right to do that well they've got a right to do it that's their job it's whether you've a right to refuse to answer and yes you do have the right to a fan refuse to answer but if it's possible you can very quickly give them the answers that will get you out of this situation because you can explain we didn't come from that way we came from that way we can prove it somehow you never know you never know okay so again you don't have to make small talk with them and and you can refuse to talk to them as the passenger keep in mind and then keep in mind of course the primary thing and we've talked to us before is that the length of time of the traffic stop is what's considered to be reasonable for the police officer to finish what he's doing investigate what he needs to investigate and then issuing citations if any and at that point the stop ends but there's no bright-line it's not 15 minutes not 20 that's not 25 it's just what's reasonable okay and so if it starts getting past that point you as the passenger could theoretically ask the police custard again I'm being detained here and I don't understand why it's taking so long you can ask that you can always say again am I being detained if the police says no you're not then you can get out start walking if you want to I don't know how practical that might be but that's the point so as a passenger you've got a lot more rights than you do as the driver of a vehicle pulled over and I hope you understood those otherwise questions or comments farm away talk Twitter you

Channel: Steve Lehto

Views: 408,590

Rating: 4.8276663 out of 5

Keywords: lemon law, michigan lemon law, lemon law attorney, lemon law lawyer

Id: hT-Im-tGN30

Length: 19min 13sec (1153 seconds)

Published: Wed Jan 30 2019