The Automobile Exception: 100 Years, 80 Cases, but Still No Rule

Abstract

Since the Supreme Court allowed for the warrantless search of automobiles in Carroll v. United States (1925), a reasonable expectation of privacy in the automobile has gone by the wayside. With new technologies creeping into all aspects of the car, privacy rights in the automobile could become non-existent if the Court’s current trend continues. The cost of a traffic stop has increased, and this thesis provides evidence in support of privacy returning to America’s roadways. This mixed-method approach thesis examines and frames the history, current tone, and possible future of the automobile exception to the warrant requirement of the Fourth Amendment. Data were collected from the Supreme Court Database, Opinions of the Court, and journal articles. Regressions were employed to test the strength of the relationship between variables. Emerging technologies should only be searched via a valid search warrant, not by way of the automobile exception.