MBE Rules · Criminal Procedure
Warrant exception — automobile
Carroll
The rule
Police with probable cause that a vehicle contains contraband or evidence may search the vehicle and any containers within that could hold the object of the search, without a warrant. Justification: mobility and reduced expectation of privacy.
In plain English
If police think there's illegal stuff in a car, they can search it and any containers inside without needing a warrant, because cars can quickly drive away.
Worked example
Officer A stops the defendant's car for speeding and smells marijuana. Believing there's more inside, Officer A searches the trunk and finds illegal drugs. The search is valid without a warrant.
Memory hook
Carroll's Car Clause: Probable cause, no pause. If cops think contraband's in your car, they can search sans warrant.
The trap
Students think: Any car stop allows a search. Wrong, because probable cause is required. The actual test is if there's probable cause for contraband.
How examiners test it
The MBE loves: traffic stop + suspicious item in view. Trap: students assume all stops justify searches. Key: probable cause for specific contraband needed.
Drill this rule until it can't fail you.
Vrenberg generates unlimited questions on this exact rule, tracks your mastery of it, and brings it back until it sticks.