On April 21, 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down an opinion which will directly affect the manner in which law enforcement in Florida, and across the country, can search vehicles during traffic stops. Prior to this decision, law enforcement typically searched a vehicle once the driver or a passenger was arrested for any crime, even a traffic charge such as Driving while License is Suspended or Revoked. Practically speaking, this meant that when a driver was arrested and placed in the back of the officer's patrol car in handcuffs, the police could search the car.
The case of Arizona v. Gant clarified some of the Supreme Court's previous cases which addressed this issue, and concluded that "Police may search a vehicle incident to a recent occupant's arrest only if the arrestee is within reaching distance of the passenger compartment at the time of the search, or it is reasonable to believe the vehicle contains evidence of the offense of arrest." This means that if you are arrested for a crime involving drugs or guns, they can still search the car once you are arrested. However, if the arrest is for a traffic offense or something that a search of the car has nothing to do with, they should not be able to search.
Be aware that the police will use coercive tactics to get your consent to search, or may be able to conduct an inventory search if your car is impounded. However, the law now in place should prevent unbridled searches of vehicles if police are following the law.
