What is the vehicle exception to the warrant requirement?

• A. Police may search a vehicle without a warrant if there is probable cause to believe it contains contraband or evidence, due to its mobility.
• B. Police may search a vehicle with a warrant only if the vehicle is parked.
• C. The vehicle exception allows searching any vehicle as a matter of policy.
• D. A vehicle can be searched without probable cause anytime if it is abandoned.

Answer: (A)

The vehicle exception rests on the mobility of cars and the risk that evidence could be moved, hidden, or destroyed before a warrant can be obtained. When police have probable cause to believe a vehicle contains contraband or evidence, they may search the vehicle without a warrant, and the search can cover the interior, the trunk, and any containers inside that could reasonably conceal the item sought. This rule protects the likelihood of obtaining evidence before it disappears and comes from cases like Carroll v. United States.

The other statements don’t fit because the warrantless search is not required only when a vehicle is parked, not a blanket policy allowing any vehicle to be searched, and not based on abandonment. Abandonment changes privacy expectations, but the vehicle exception itself hinges on probable cause and the vehicle’s mobility, not on abandonment or a universal policy.