CHARLES B.“BRAD”FRYE ATTORNEY AND COUNSELOR AT LAW 808 Travis, Suite 1101 Houston, Texas 77002 (713) 236-8700 Fax: (713) 229- 8031 www.charlesbfrye.com Vehicle Inventory Searches in Texas This general memorandum should provide you a basic understanding of the area of law defining proper “inventory searches” of motor vehicles by law enforcement officers. Should you have questions about how a search of your vehicle may affect your legal rights – or how it may affect your rights in a pending criminal case – you should consult with an experienced criminal defense attorney. Generally, law enforcement authorities who have lawfully acquired possession of a vehicle have the right to inventory its contents as part of their “caretaking responsibility.” Often, law enforcement authorities use the “caretaking responsibility” as an excuse to get around the probable cause and warrant requirements for searches. The issue of probable cause is irrelevant to a true inventory search. This is because the supposed “good-faith administration” of“reasonable police regulations” relating to inventory procedures satisfies the requirements of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Although probable cause is not required because an inventory search serves purposes other than criminal investigation, an inventory search supposedly may not be used by the police as a “ruse for a general rummaging.” An inventory search is reasonable only if conducted for purposes of an inventory and not as an investigatory tool to produce or discover incriminating evidence. While conducting an inventory, the police may seize any items of contraband or evidence that they discover. The right to inventory permits the search of all readily accessible portions of the vehicle, such as an unlocked glove compartment. It may also be permissible to search otherwise inaccessible portions of the vehicle, such as a locked glove compartment or trunk, if it can be done without force, such as by using the owner’s key. Under the Fourth Amendment, closed containers found within a vehicle during an inventory search may be opened if police department policy authorizes the opening of containers. The applicable criteria are those of the agency actually doing the inventory search. Needless to say, there’s probably not a law enforcement agency in North America that doesn’t have such a policy authorizing its’ agents to open sealed containers during an “inventory search” of a vehicle. Nevertheless, Article 1, Section 9, of the Texas Constitution provides greater protection than the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution in the context of inventory
