You're sitting in your car, and you haven't done anything wrong, and the officer leans in and says, "I'm detecting an odor." Just like that, your entire night changes. Here's what you need to know. You shouldn't be scared about what he smells, you should be more scared about what he actually finds, or what he actually sees in plain view. What is the plain view doctrine? Plain view doctrine is what the officer can see from where he has the legal right to be. Now, he has to be on a valid traffic stop first, and not adjust the scene in any way. He can't open the door, or he can't move your seat up to see behind your seat. But, if he sees something in plain view that leads him to believe that there's probable cause that there's some contraband in your car, then he has probable cause to search your car. If he has probable cause to search your car, he does not need a search warrant.