Final answer:
In California v. Acevedo, the Supreme Court ruled that warrants are not required for searching containers within vehicles based on probable cause. This falls under the exceptions to the Fourth Amendment that accommodate lower expectations of privacy in vehicles and possible exigent circumstances.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to the Supreme Court ruling in California v. Acevedo (1991), warrants are not necessary for searching containers inside vehicles if there is probable cause. The Court stated that the police can search without a warrant if they have probable cause to believe that contraband or evidence of a crime is present in the vehicle. This is under the premise that there is a lower expectation of privacy in vehicles compared to homes, and exigent circumstances often exist given that vehicles can quickly move away from the scene.
The Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures and indicates that warrants are generally required for searches. However, exceptions exist where the expectation to privacy is lower, or there are exigent circumstances, such as the risk of evidence being destroyed.