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Poll_Blind

(23,864 posts)
Sun Apr 21, 2013, 12:48 PM Apr 2013

Slate: Can the Police Search My Home for a Bomber?



Can the Police Search My Home for a Bomber?

Why the door-to-door manhunt for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev doesn’t violate the Constitution.

SWAT teams descended on the Boston suburb of Watertown on Friday morning to conduct a door-to-door search for the Boston Marathon bombing suspect left alive after a convenience store robbery, car chase, and shootout Thursday night. Is it legal for the police to search your house without a warrant?

It can be. Under the Fourth Amendment, a judge issues a warrant if police can demonstrate that a search is “reasonable”—that there is “probable cause” to investigate a house, car, or backyard for evidence. But there are plenty of circumstances under which police can perform searches without invoking probable cause.

If you consent to a police search, officers do not need a warrant to enter your home. If you have a housemate, he or she can allow the police to rummage through common areas, such as the living room or the kitchen, but not private areas, such as your closet or bedroom.

In exigent circumstances, or emergency situations, police can conduct warrantless searches to protect public safety. This exception to the Fourth Amendment’s probable cause requirement normally addresses situations of “hot pursuit,” in which an escaping suspect is tracked to a private home. But it might also apply to the events unfolding in Boston if further harm or injury might be supposed to occur in the time it takes to secure a warrant. A bomber believed to be armed and planning more violence would almost certainly meet such prerequisites.

--snip--


Much more at the link! Very interesting article, also covers the "brick of cocaine on the coffee table" scenario.

PB
18 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Slate: Can the Police Search My Home for a Bomber? (Original Post) Poll_Blind Apr 2013 OP
Additionally, anything they find that's not related to the original search cannot be used Xipe Totec Apr 2013 #1
I heard that if they see something they can use it even if it's not related to the search. limpyhobbler Apr 2013 #3
IF you consent to the search kudzu22 Apr 2013 #11
Consent is not always required. limpyhobbler Apr 2013 #13
You are always better off not consenting kudzu22 Apr 2013 #16
i hope that is true. n/t moxie.lu Apr 2013 #8
The article disagrees with you. ZombieHorde Apr 2013 #14
That's if you let them in voluntarily. All bets are off then. nt Xipe Totec Apr 2013 #15
So if the suspect is scary enough, all your rights go out the window?! Do not agree. reformist2 Apr 2013 #2
Welcome to the New America whatchamacallit Apr 2013 #5
Not much agree/disagree. This is law. We should work to repeal laws we do... Poll_Blind Apr 2013 #6
It's actually not the law. Forcibly searching every home in a neighborhood - never before! reformist2 Apr 2013 #9
What makes you think every home in the entire neighborhood was forcibly searched? Poll_Blind Apr 2013 #10
I don't - but it kind of renders 'cooperation' meaningless when you see one forced entry. reformist2 Apr 2013 #12
I have read here and elsewhere that people could refuse and did ProgressiveProfessor Apr 2013 #18
So, if they thought that the suspect might be hiding out in Omaha could they enter homes there? Tierra_y_Libertad Apr 2013 #4
Theoretically, yes. It really depends on what the judge agrees to and... Poll_Blind Apr 2013 #7
If the police were giving active chance and they lose him SpartanDem Apr 2013 #17

Xipe Totec

(43,872 posts)
1. Additionally, anything they find that's not related to the original search cannot be used
Sun Apr 21, 2013, 01:07 PM
Apr 2013

Such as the leafy green plant growing under a lamp in your closet.

No evidence can be collected except for the original purpose of the search.

limpyhobbler

(8,244 posts)
13. Consent is not always required.
Sun Apr 21, 2013, 01:37 PM
Apr 2013

From the article:

What if the cops are searching my house for bombers and they find a brick of cocaine on my coffee table?
You’re in trouble. According to the “plain view” doctrine, if police already have a right to be in your house and they notice evidence of a crime, they are entitled to seize that evidence for use against you in court.


In exigent circumstances, or emergency situations, police can conduct warrantless searches to protect public safety ... A bomber believed to be armed and planning more violence would almost certainly meet such prerequisites.


So, if there is a violent criminal on the lose, believed to be planning more violence, that could give the cops a right to search any home in the area, with or without consent. And if the are in the home legally and notice some contraband, they can use it against you. That's how it seems to me.


kudzu22

(1,273 posts)
16. You are always better off not consenting
Sun Apr 21, 2013, 01:54 PM
Apr 2013

If you invite them in and they see something in plain sight, they can use it against you. If you refuse and they come back with a warrant, they can only use the things listed in the warrant. If they enter under "exigent circumstances" (and whether a door-to-door search can be considered exigent is up for debate), then your lawyer can still argue it was an illegal search and maybe get the evidence thrown out. If you consent, you have no such option.

P.S. I'm not a lawyer, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

ZombieHorde

(29,047 posts)
14. The article disagrees with you.
Sun Apr 21, 2013, 01:40 PM
Apr 2013
What if the cops are searching my house for bombers and they find a brick of cocaine on my coffee table?

You’re in trouble. According to the “plain view” doctrine, if police already have a right to be in your house and they notice evidence of a crime, they are entitled to seize that evidence for use against you in court. Of course, the SWAT teams searching for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev probably have more on their minds right now than illegal drug use.

reformist2

(9,841 posts)
2. So if the suspect is scary enough, all your rights go out the window?! Do not agree.
Sun Apr 21, 2013, 01:10 PM
Apr 2013

It doesn't matter whether he had a gun or a bomb - same difference to public safety, really.

Poll_Blind

(23,864 posts)
6. Not much agree/disagree. This is law. We should work to repeal laws we do...
Sun Apr 21, 2013, 01:13 PM
Apr 2013

...not like and enact laws to protect ourselves from things we don't like.

This is what makes the failure of representative government in America, today, and a general apathy of the public to hold elected representatives accountable, a deeply perilous situation.

PB

Poll_Blind

(23,864 posts)
10. What makes you think every home in the entire neighborhood was forcibly searched?
Sun Apr 21, 2013, 01:25 PM
Apr 2013

Just wondering.

I'm also a little dubious that this situation has never come up, before, in the history of America. That just seems like a stretch.

PB

ProgressiveProfessor

(22,144 posts)
18. I have read here and elsewhere that people could refuse and did
Sun Apr 21, 2013, 04:46 PM
Apr 2013

Not a lot, but a few. Nobody was forced. Houses where no one opened the door were not entered either.

 

Tierra_y_Libertad

(50,414 posts)
4. So, if they thought that the suspect might be hiding out in Omaha could they enter homes there?
Sun Apr 21, 2013, 01:11 PM
Apr 2013

Or, if someone called and said they might have seen the suspect in Strawberry Point, Iowa, could they start kicking down random doors there?

Poll_Blind

(23,864 posts)
7. Theoretically, yes. It really depends on what the judge agrees to and...
Sun Apr 21, 2013, 01:14 PM
Apr 2013

...the nature of the matter. IIRC, and I could be wrong, but also the governor has a shitload of power in stripping rights, situationally.

PB

SpartanDem

(4,533 posts)
17. If the police were giving active chance and they lose him
Sun Apr 21, 2013, 02:25 PM
Apr 2013

in a neighborhood, they could then go door to door in that area. What they can't do is say we think he's Strawberry Point so we're just going to start doing searches.

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