I am currently defending a 22 year old woman who was charged with possession of a Taser Gun. (In Michigan possession of a Taser Gun is a felony punishable by up to four years in prison).
In this case my client (who is 22 year’s old, 5’2 and about 105 pounds) was a victim of a robbery while getting off of work. (She was a waitress and worked nights). Fearing for her safety she lawfully purchased her Taser Gun at a gas station in Kentucky (where she lived).
Sometime later my client moved back to Michigan and took a job as a waitress at a bar in Downtown Detroit. Because she worked in a dangerous area she kept the Taser in the backseat of her car.
One evening she was driving home from work and was pulled over for speeding by the Bloomfield Hills police. The officer asked my client if it was alright if he searched her vehicle. Not realizing the ramifications of her answer, my client consented. When the office found her Taser, my client was arrested, spent the evening in jail and is now being charged with a felony.
This could have all be avoided, had my client simply refused the officer’s request to search her vehicle.
The police cannot search your vehicle when all you are being ticketed for is a routine traffic violation. As a general rule, when an officer “asks” for permission to search your car it is a clue that the only way he will get to search your car is if you give him permission to do so.
You should NEVER consent to a police search of your vehicle. Even if you belive you have nothing in the car that could harm you, you can never know what the officer will find. My client learned this the hard way.
