Quote Originally Posted by birdgirl73
It's not reasonable doubt. (Reasonable doubt has to do with the burden of proof--for guilt or innocence--in trial litigation.)

This was "probable cause." And it means LEOs are allowed to search the car or other places if you've given them cause to do so. In this case, they obtained their cause by having seen the first pipe or possibly even smelling the smoke odor. Any detectible evidence--whether it's visible, smellable, or even feelable--that there's grass or other "drugs" around, and you've given them the right to look further. Cops themselves don't even have to prove the probable cause. They can just have a sense that something's up and then call in dogs, who smell the odor of drugs, and if a drug-sniffing dog indicates he picks up on a suspicious odor, then that's probable cause, too.

The fact that they broke your stuff is not right, but cops can always say they were simply doing a thorough search.

Might not be a bad idea just to seek some quick legal advice about what to do. I'm assuming you were just ticketed, or were you arrested and booked?

They cannot search you based on "sense" or feeling.

But they can pretty much search you whenever they want, by just saying they smelled something. If they come out empty handed in the search, they just say that it smelled like weed or alcohol or something. If you get their badge number and name, and report them, their superior officer doesnt do anything about the search, so long as the police officer "could of sworn" he smelled alcohol.

It happened to me before.