In this article, our Cook County traffic lawyers explain when the police may search your vehicle.  The police may only search your vehicle if they have probable cause to believe a crime has been committed or if you give your consent. Our Cook County traffic attorneys recommend refusing consent in order to preserve your best possible defense. However, if the police attempt to search your vehicle even though you refuse consent, you should not resist them, as your traffic attorney will likely be able to have any evidence they find thrown out.

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In this article, our Cook County traffic attorneys explain the rights of passengers in a traffic stop. The police are prohibited by the 4th Amendment from conducting a traffic stop without “specific and articulable facts” that give rise to a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity.  Violations of traffic laws or erratic driving can provide such reasonable suspicion so as to permit the police to pull you over without violating your 4th Amendment rights. If you are pulled over for a traffic stop, you must provide the police officer with your driver’s license, proof of insurance and registration if the officer requests it.  However, you are not required to answer any questions that the police officer asks you. A police officer may perform a search of your vehicle without a warrant if he or she has probable cause to believe that a crime has been committed.  However, absent probable cause, the police do not have the right to search your vehicle unless you consent to the search.

In this episode, we explain your rights if you are arrested in Illinois, discuss the Illinois criminal process, and explain warrants, criminal charges, bonds in criminal cases, and stop and frisk laws. A warrant is a legal document that authorizes an officer to make an arrest, search a specific location, or carry out a specific action. An officer is authorized to stop an individual who he reasonably believes may have committed or will commit an offense. After the initial stop and frisk the officer may make an arrest if he has a reasonable belief that the individual has committed or will commit a crime.  Once taken into custody the officer must remind the individual of his or her rights.  When the arrest is made, an arrest card will be completed by the law enforcing authority.  An arrest card is a card that provides information about the defendant’s age, race, gender, and other information.  The officer has the option to release the individual, release the individual and request the state attorney to charge the individual, or formally charge the individual.  Once charged, the defendant has the right to know what charges are against him.