Expert: Jack Toomey - 3/30/2008

Question
QUESTION: Hello,
I was wondering if police officers are aloud to go through your mail when searching your car. Can they open it? I read that it is a federal crime for ANYONE that opens someone mail. It violates their privacy. They can only open it with a warrant. Is this true? Does it matter if your the sender or reciever of the mail? Thanks.

ANSWER: Robby,

  The federal law that you read applies to people who tamper with the mail with a criminal intent.  For example someone who steals mail from a mailbox or breaks open mailboxes and then steals the mail.  It would not apply to a police officer who is conducting a legitimate search of a car with good faith.  There must have been a reason why the police opened the mail.

 Now you didn't say if this was during a search warrant, a consent search, or a traffic stop.  But either way if something was found that would cause the owner of the mail to be charged with a criminal offense then that person would have the right to contest the search at his trial.  If the person was not charged with a criminal offense then there are many different civil remedies that the person can take against the police officers involved.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: It was at a traffic stop. My friend sells alot of things online and had many packages in his car. the officer went through all the boxes and found nothing. my friend is very mad that he went through the boxes. it cost his money to replace the boxes/stamps and it waisted his time. the officer ended up not charging him with anything, for he found nothing in the car. The officer said he had the right to seach the boxes because he felt he smelled marijuana in the car. Can a cop seriously just go through his mail because he has a 'feeling.' I think this is ridiculous and my friend seriously wants to press charges!

Answer
You should have included all of that information in the original question so I could have had a better idea about what happened.  I also am wondering why you are asking this question instead of your friend who would have a better chance describing the incident completly so it wouldn't be secondhand info.  Either way, if your friend thinks that a criminal offense has occurred, or that his rights were violated then he has every right to seek charges or to sue the officer who was involved.