Expert: Loren Stevens - 12/18/2003

Question
hi, if police stop a car because they have a report in their computer saying that the car is stolen, than they search the occupants, than they discover the report is erroneous, does the fact that they beleived the report at the time make that search good or does it mean that the search is no good becuase the report was erroneus. also once they stopped the car and the driver gave them a license , reg, insurance, which had a discrepancy (the name of the owner was frank shkreli while the name of the driver is anton shkreli) and the driver tells police that the car is not stolen and that the reason his fathers name is on the tilte etc, is because he saves on insurance and that he is infact the owner, at this point are police supposed to search or are they first supposed to call the precinct back and further investigate the matter before they search and how does the issue of securing the scene come into play, are they allowed to search anyway so that they can secure the scene or do they first have to radio back to the precinct. if they are supposed to first radio the precinct than if they didnt do that and went straight into a search would this than turn a goodfaith search into a bad faith search. i know im asking alot sorry. thankyou for your time. what happened is i was arrested and served 2 years in prison as a result that they searched me and i had an unlicensed gun on me. there was no incident and i have no other record.

Answer
Robert,
Understand that I can't give you legal counsel. You have/had an atty for that, and should pose these questions to the atty.
What ever decision the Judge rendered, was based on the evidence presented in court.
That said, and not withstanding issues with port of entry, involving Customs, INS, Border Patrol et al
there are 4 legal avenues for a search: search incident to a lawful arrest, search warrant, exigent circumstances, and consent.
Now, there are a variety of other attendant matters, that often come into play: plainview doctrine, inevitable discovery etc. And, there are issues of good faith.
How the officers proceed on a suspicious stop depends on a host of considerations.
The police donot have to call the station for guidence/permission on every incident. There are procedures, policy orders, protocol etc to address most issues.
In any event, if you feel you were not treated fairly, there is an appeal process available to you.
One fact is glaring, you in fact were in posession of an unregistered firearm.
My advice to you, is to consult with an atty, do some legal research yourself, and no matter what, profit from life's lessons.
good luck
loren