[djmcmath]

That guy needs to get a new lawyer. A proper lawyer would have known that a vehicle in operable condition can generally fall under the "emergent" rules, given probable cause. e.g., the guy could drive off and change the engine bay while you're getting a warrant. The other thing is that when the guy gets arrested, his car gets towed and impounded ... then the police (as I understand it -- someone correct me if I'm wrong) are required to do a full search of the vehicle incident to impound. So not only does he go to jail, he loses his car, and gets nailed for the ticket. There's a lawyer who probably ought to be debarred.

The only oddity is that vehicular modifications fall under traffic code, which is distinctly not law. If he was hauling marijuana in the engine bay, well, that would be a violation of law, and therefore a crime. "Illegal" modifications aren't "illegal," techinically, they're a violation of code, aka an "infraction." It's different, and I'm honestly not sure what constitutional protections apply to code violations. Any lawyers here know how search and seizure applies here?