Seventh Circuit

United States v. Hays, No. 22-3294 (7th Cir. 2023)

In this case, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reviewed an appeal related to a Fourth Amendment issue involving a warrantless search of a vehicle.

The defendant, Charles Hays, was stopped by the police while driving, for an equipment violation, and his passenger was found in possession of methamphetamine. The police officers then searched the vehicle’s interior but found no drugs. However, under the hood of the car, inside the air filter, they discovered more methamphetamine.

During the stop, Officers learned that Hays had a previous drug related conviction. Hays was indicted and later moved to suppress the evidence obtained during the traffic stop, arguing that the officers did not have probable cause to search under the hood and in the air filter. The district court denied his motion, and Hays subsequently pleaded guilty to possession with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, preserving his right to appeal the denial of his motion to suppress.

Facts: After stopping the car Charles Hays was driving, officers observed Hays’s passenger possessing methamphetamine and a smoking pipe. Officers searched the car’s interior, finding a screwdriver in the center console but no drugs. An officer then searched under the car’s hood and found methamphetamine in the air filter. The only issue on appeal is whether the officers had probable cause to search under the car’s hood, including inside the air filter.

Issue: Does the Mobile Conveyance Exception (Carroll Doctrine)) allow an officer to search under of the hood of the vehicle when a passenger is found to have drugs on her person?

Requirements of Carroll v. United States:

1) the LEO has lawful access to the conveyance,

2) the conveyance is readily mobile, and

3) probable cause exists to believe contraband or evidence of a crime is presently in the conveyance. Further, when facts support probable cause to search a vehicle, a LEO may search every part of the vehicle and its contents including locked or unlocked containers capable of containing the object of the search.

The Court’s Analysis: The Seventh Circuit affirmed the district court’s decision, holding that under the automobile exception to the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement, officers may conduct a warrantless search of a vehicle, including all parts of the vehicle where there is a fair probability contraband could be concealed, if there is probable cause to believe it contains contraband or evidence of illegal activity. The court found that given the totality of the circumstances, including the passenger’s possession of methamphetamine, Hays’s previous drug-related arrest, and the presence of a screwdriver in the car – a tool known to be used for hiding drugs in vehicles – officers had a fair probability to believe that methamphetamine could be concealed in the car, including under its hood.

“(W)e previously held that under the automobile exception, an officer had the authority to conduct a warrantless search of a car when he discovered the passenger in possession of contraband. United States v. McGuire, 957 F.2d 310, 314 (7th Cir. 1992) (“Once Trooper Newman discovered that [the passenger] was transporting open, alcoholic liquor … he had probable cause to believe that the car contained additional contraband or evidence.”); see Houghton,526 U.S. at 304–05 (rejecting a driver/passenger distinction and noting that a vehicle’s driver and passenger ‘will often be engaged in a common enterprise … and have the same interest in concealing the fruits or the evidence of their wrongdoing’).”

For the court’s opinion: Click here

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