Can the police search my house without a search warrant?

Question

The police officers came to me house to arrest me for my 4 traffic warrants.  They then put me in handcuffs and put me in the back seat of a cop car while they ran the Vehicle Identification Numbers of my cars and motorcycle.  But at the same time they started to search my residence! They found 6 rifles in my house and now I am in jail facing a 6 year sentence for a gun charge.  Did they have a right to enter my house without a search warrant?  This is 6+ years of my life that I could lose and I need all the help I can get.

Samuel H. Harrison · Answer

The short answer to the question is NO. The Fourth Amendment's prohibition of unreasonable searches has some exceptions that would allow an officer to search a home without a warrant, but the facts you set out do not include any of the exceptions. Even if for some odd reason the rifles were were visible to the officers when they arrested you, The correct procedure would have been to either radio in and ask someone to get a warrant or to leave an officer at the house and have another officer apply for the warrant.This answer assumes you were not on probation or parole and had not signed a waiver of your Fourth Amendment rights as part of that sentence. IF that is the case, the waiver may allow them to conduct the search you describe.

Hussein Karmali · Answer

I would need additional information to be able to answer your question such as what kind of cases had a warrant.

Scott Hilderman · Answer

The police may search your house under certain circumstances without a warrant. In this case they had one or more warrants for your arrest. Subsequent to an arrest, they may search the local area for firearms and other people for officer safety. It really depends on where you were when they searched your house. If you were outside then they would have a difficult time in justifying the search of your house. If they arrested you inside the house then the could do a search. However, the search must be limited in scope to those areas that could cause a problem for the police. It is a complicated area of the law and I cannot provide with a better answer without more information.

William C. Gosnell · Answer

No the search of your house was warrantless and illegal.

They can enter your house to arrest you but once you are secured in a squad car they cannot search your house without a warrant.

Michael Avioli · Answer

No. Unless you consent. Call me to retain me and I will aggressively defend you.

Justin Summary · Answer

Normally they would need consent from whomever owns the home or is on the lease before they could search the home. There are a few other instances where they could search the home without a warrant but I would have to see the police reports before I could tell you whether the search was justified or not. Give me a call if you would like to discuss this.

Eric Chandler · Answer

It depends. That kind of situation is extremely fact dependent. I assume you have already spoken to either your lawyer or public defender about this; however if for some odd reason you have not, you should immediately.

Jeremy Geigle · Answer

The Constitutions provides that you should be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. And normally a warrant would be required to search your home. There are however exceptions to the warrant requirement such as consent, emergency, search incident to arrest, and items in plain view. Officers may also make a protective sweep of an area if they believe accomplices may be present. If you did not give consent, perhaps the officers had sufficient information to obtain a warrant to search your home. Were you shown a copy of a warrant? If not, you may have the ability to motion the court to suppress the evidence gathered during the warrantless/unconstitutional search.

Barry McWhirter · Answer

As a general rule, the police cannot search your house without a search warrant. There are a few exceptions to that rule, but it doesn't sound like any of them apply in your situation.

Jared Austin · Answer

Usually the answer is no, the police cannot search your home without a warrant unless one of the exceptions to search warrants apply. However, from the facts you have given me it doesn't sound like any of the exceptions do. I would strongly suggest you speak to and retain an experienced criminal lawyer soon. They will be better able to tell you how to fight it and what motions to file. Feel free to call for a free consultation.

Robert Keates · Answer

An arrest warrant alone, without a search warrant for the home, will not permit a search of the home. However, often times officers will apply for both at the same time. What could be an issue is what they were allowed to search for when the problem was traffic tickets. If you had a warrant out for gun charges, that would be different, but you may have a decent motion to suppress based on what you have written so far.

Thomas Patrick Connelly · Answer

No. You clearly have an expectation of privacy in your own home, protected under the 4th Amendment to the US Constitution and applicable to the states under the 14th Amendment. They will probably say that you or someone with "apparent" authority gave them permission to search your home, or that they were searching the immediate vicinity to "secure" it incidental to your arrest, however. You need to retain legal counsel, who should file a motion to suppress the fruits of the search. Good luck.

Robert Driessen · Answer

You should hire an attorney to assist you. There does appear to be an issue with the search but one would need more information to be certain.

Cotter Conway · Answer

It is the general rule that police must have a valid search warrant to search any property. However, there are a number of exceptions. For example, they can search you incident to your arrest without a warrant. That would not include your house especially after you had already been removed from the house. You should definitely contact me for a free consultation.

Michael Levine · Answer

There are exceptions to the requirement that police obtain a search warrant prior to searching a person's home. You do have 4th Amendment protections and they are strongest with respect to your home. That said, I would need more information to specifically address your situation. This is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice.

Alanna Coopersmith · Answer

Unless you are on probation or parole with a search and seizure clause or someone else who resides there consented to the search, it sounds like you have a good motion challenging the legality of the officers actions under the Fourth Amendment. If you win the motion, called a motion to suppress, the evidence will be excluded and in all likelihood the case will be dismissed.

Jeff Yeh · Answer

The traffic warrants are sufficient for the police to enter and arrest you. However, the search inside the house may not be legal if it was not considered "incidental to a lawful arrest." You need to contact a lawyer ASAP.

Geoffrey MacLaren Yaryan · Answer

No, the United States Constitution would require a search warrant under the circumstances you described.

Robert English · Answer

Generally speaking, there are exceptions to the warrant requirement. In your matter, they had a valid arrest warrant so they can arrest you. They can also do a walkthrough of your property for other parties and officer safety. This is generally referred to as clearing the residence. There are factual questions that come into play in this matter so you need to talk to an attorney. Normally, they would not be able to search a small drawer for example. A closet large enough to hold a person would be reasonable.

Eric Sterkenburg · Answer

Searches by the police are very involved and, therefore, much more information is needed to give you the right answer. Please contact me so I can help you.

Chad Lewin · Answer

It depends on many factors whether this was a legal search or not. You should have an attorney experienced with search and seizure law representing you. Call me or have a family member contact me for a consultation.

Ramona Hallam · Answer

Police officers need either (1) an arrest warrant or (2) probable and exigent circumstances to lawfully enter a persons home to arrest its occupant. (Kirk v. Louisiana (2002) 536 U.S. 635 [153 L.Ed.2nd 599].) Once in the house, if they have a search warrant, they can legally search. If you or someone residing in the house gave permission for a search, then it is okay. If you were in the house when the arrest began and there was something in plain sight or within your reach, they do not have to ignore it but can seize it. If they have a warrant only for your arrest, they have the right, based upon the authority of the arrest warrant, to search anywhere in the house that you might have been found. (Maryland v. Buie (1990) 494 U.S. 325, 330 [108 L.Ed.2nd 276, 283].) The inquiry is a factual inquiry based upon the circumstances moment by moment.They are allowed to do a search but only in specified circumstances. You really should retain counsel to analyze the facts of your case and bring a motion to suppress, or to introduce evidence at your preliminary hearing. There are so many factors that it is difficult to assess without police reports and witness statements.

Juan Dotson · Answer

Generally NO, the police cannot search your home without a warrant. There are exceptions to the rule against unreasonable searches or seizures. One exception is a search incident to an arrest. Please read my websites brief article on search warrant basics: dotsondefense.com/post/Search-warrants-The-Basics.aspx. You should hire an attorney immediately.

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