Can a police officer conduct a search of a vehicle even after the vehicle has been impounded?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Burch, 188 Cal.App.3d 172, 232 Cal.Rptr. 502 (Cal. App. 1986):

5 This, in light of the officer's knowledge of recent thefts of automobile parts, also raises the question of whether the officer had probable cause to believe these parts constituted contraband in the automobile in which case officers may conduct warrantless searches of automobiles, even after a vehicle has been impounded. (Michigan v. Thomas (1982) 458 U.S. 259, 261, 102 S.Ct. 3079, 3080, 73 L.Ed.2d 750.)

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