Which exception to the warrant requirement covers a moving vehicle stopped with probable cause?

• A. Moving vehicle
• B. Consent
• C. Incident to arrest
• D. Terry frisk

Answer: (A)

This scenario is governed by the automobile exception to the warrant requirement. Because a moving vehicle can be quickly moved away and occupants have a reduced expectation of privacy in a vehicle on public roads, police may conduct a search without a warrant if they have probable cause to believe the vehicle contains contraband. When probable cause exists, officers can search the entire vehicle and any compartments or containers inside to locate the item named in that cause, and they may seize what they find.

This is distinct from consent, which would allow a search only if the owner voluntarily agrees, regardless of probable cause. It’s also different from a search incident to arrest, which covers areas within the arrestee’s immediate control and is tied to the arrest itself rather than to probable cause to search the vehicle. And a Terry frisk is a brief stop-and-frisk for weapons based on reasonable suspicion, not a probable-cause-based vehicle search.

So, the moving vehicle exception—the automobile exception—best fits a vehicle stopped with probable cause.