A Disturbing Headline: Pa. police powers increased. Supreme Court: Pennsylvania cops no longer need a warrant to search citizens’ vehicles

Supreme Court Justice Seamus McCaffery

Posted: Wednesday, April 30, 2014 10:55 am | Updated: 10:03 am, Thu May 1, 2014.

Pennsylvania police officers no longer need a warrant to search a citizen’s vehicle, according to a recent state Supreme Court opinion.
The high court’s opinion, released Tuesday, is being called a drastic change in citizens’ rights and police powers.
Previously, citizens could refuse an officer’s request to search a vehicle. In most cases, the officer would then need a warrant — signed by a judge — to conduct the search.
That’s no longer the case, according to the opinion written by Supreme Court Justice Seamus McCaffery.
The ruling, passed on a 4-2 vote, was made in regard to an appeal from a 2010 vehicle stop in Philadelphia.
Local police and legal professionals are calling the opinion “big news.”