Can cops enter your house without a search warrant?

[Borracho]

cops are like vampires, once you invite them in its all over... I bet someone invited them in

 

[Nanotech]

They cannot enter unless invited or a door is left open. My guess is a door was left open or one of the guests let them in out of intimidation.

 

[TechBoyJK]

yea, i know I am not hearing the entire story...

 

[Blieb]

I think if the door is open sometimes they can just walk in ...

 

[thomsbrain]

Originally posted by: Nitemare
They probably asked if they could come in and some dumbasses said ok.

 

[stev0]

Originally posted by: Nitemare
They probably asked if they could come in and some dumbasses said ok.

 

[spidey07]

others have nailed it. if they see a crime being committed (under age drinking) they can enter.

Imagine this - your sitting in your house smoking a 6 foot tall bong. Cops see you through the window. Can they come in?

Yes.

-edit- just did some searching. seems like is city and state specific.

 

[Titan]

In this country, we have a little thing called The Fourth Amendment

If there was no evidence of a crime being commited, It is unconstitutional for authorities to trespass onto private property without a physical warrant or permission. In some states they have different kinds of warrants, some where they have to serve you with the warrant, others where they can knock the door down, warrant in hand.

But, having no warrant doesn't suprise me. The cops do this kinda crap all the time, and no one ever calls them on it. More people need to take a stand against stupid cops who are on power trips. I would be sure that no one at your friend's party didn't let the cops in. But if they just barged in (for the purposes of search) then that is illegal. If you friend wants to make a big fuss, tell him to call the ACLU.

 

[MacBaine]

Originally posted by: brxndxn
In HS, my friend was throwing a party and entirely too many people showed up. The clubhouse parking lot is where most people were hanging out. He let his close friends into his house. There were maybe 25-30 of us in his house. We locked the doors and stayed quiet when the cops came and busted up the parking lot party. Then, the cops just kicked open my friend's door.

We later found out what they did was entirely illegal. The cops stayed in my friend's house until everyone under 18 had their parents pick them up. It took about an hour and a half. None of us opened the door.. they just broke in.

They kicked in the door? Tell us more of this story... it sounds really unexaggerated!

 

[Xionide]

Originally posted by: WinkOsmosis
Only if you're middle eastern.

That may bethat fact but if your not doing anything it shouldnt be a problem.

-Xionide

 

[MacBaine]

Originally posted by: Xionide

Originally posted by: WinkOsmosis
Only if you're middle eastern.

That may bethat fact but if your not doing anything it shouldnt be a problem.

-Xionide

Wow...

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: tkotitan2
In this country, we have a little thing called The Fourth Amendment

If there was no evidence of a crime being commited, It is unconstitutional for authorities to trespass onto private property without a physical warrant or permission. In some states they have different kinds of warrants, some where they have to serve you with the warrant, others where they can knock the door down, warrant in hand.

But, having no warrant doesn't suprise me. The cops do this kinda crap all the time, and no one ever calls them on it. More people need to take a stand against stupid cops who are on power trips. I would be sure that no one at your friend's party didn't let the cops in. But if they just barged in (for the purposes of search) then that is illegal. If you friend wants to make a big fuss, tell him to call the ACLU.

fourth amendment doesn't protect those commiting crimes or probable cause. Depending on his state and local laws what the police did is perfectly legal.

Notice the disclaimer - depends on the state/city laws. This kind of stuff happens all the time, especially college parties/towns.

 

[Titan]

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: tkotitan2
In this country, we have a little thing called The Fourth Amendment

If there was no evidence of a crime being commited, It is unconstitutional for authorities to trespass onto private property without a physical warrant or permission. In some states they have different kinds of warrants, some where they have to serve you with the warrant, others where they can knock the door down, warrant in hand.

But, having no warrant doesn't suprise me. The cops do this kinda crap all the time, and no one ever calls them on it. More people need to take a stand against stupid cops who are on power trips. I would be sure that no one at your friend's party didn't let the cops in. But if they just barged in (for the purposes of search) then that is illegal. If you friend wants to make a big fuss, tell him to call the ACLU.

fourth amendment doesn't protect those commiting crimes or probable cause. Depending on his state and local laws what the police did is perfectly legal.

Notice the disclaimer - depends on the state/city laws. This kind of stuff happens all the time, especially college parties/towns.

I agree completely, because of what I said, there has to be some evidence of a crime being commited (at the very least) At the federal level, probably cause is required to search/seize someone's person/property. It's a well known fact that cops cas stop and ask you for ID in NY, and it happens all the time, but they can't force you. Tell the cop you have no ID on you. They cop will get very mad, probably yell at you, but there's nothing illegal about it, this is still almost a free country.

However, I will note that most of the time, if you try to prosectue something like this, it comes down to your word against the cop's. At a big party, the cop can claim he was given permission to come in. If really pressed in court, you can beat this if you require them to identify who gave permission, and you can have that person testify. This is shaky ground for cops, in some states they make sure that you sign a consent to be searched form, to have documentation, so they don't get screwed in court. Of course in your friend's case, the cops would have to admidt they were even there at all, although your friend has a ton of witnesses. He could file a civil rights lawsuit and win, but if it were me and nothing bad came from it, i would just forget about it.

Finally, never forget that cops can lie to your face to get you to sign a consent form, they do it all the time, and for some reason this is not illegal.