Can Police Search Your Car Without a Warrant?
You have a fundamental right to be free of unreasonable searches and seizures of your person and property under the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution, as well as under the constitutions of the various States. This constitutional protection extends to all people in the United States, regardless of citizenship status.
This does not mean that law enforcement officers are unable to search a person’s vehicle, place of business, and/or residence. Courts may authorize a search of one’s person or property by granting an officer’s request for a search warrant. In a criminal prosecution, law enforcement’s possession of a valid search warrant will generally defeat a claim that law enforcement’s search violated the claimant’s Fourth Amendment protections.
But are all search warrants valid? Not necessarily, as our courts have recognized various procedural and administrative defects that may render a search warrant invalid. If law enforcement obtains evidence against a person during a search, but the officers knew or should have known that the search warrant was invalid, then that person may ask a court to suppress the evidence where it was obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment. If this challenge to the evidence is successful, prosecutors may not use the evidence during the person’s criminal trial.
If law enforcement searched your person and/or property pursuant to a search warrant, then contact a criminal defense lawyer at Berry Law today for a free consultation to ensure that any and all meritorious challenges to a search warrant are pursued.
Are search warrants always valid?
No, both law enforcement officers and courts may make mistakes that render search warrants invalid. Law enforcement officers are prohibited from conducting a search pursuant to an invalid warrant when they know, or reasonably should know, that the search warrant is invalid. If they nonetheless conduct the search pursuant to an invalid warrant, then the person may successfully move to exclude from trial all evidence obtained because of the unlawful search. Moreover, under the “fruit of the poisonous tree” doctrine, any evidence derived from the illegally obtained evidence must also be excluded from trial.
What are potential grounds for invalidating a search warrant?
Under the Fourth Amendment, any law enforcement officer seeking a search warrant must establish for the court, under “[o]ath or affirmation[,]” that there is probable cause to believe that evidence of a crime will be located by the requested search. “Probable cause” means that the officer has reasonable grounds, given the circumstances, to believe that a crime has occurred or is about to occur. An officer’s belief or suspicion, alone, does not establish probable cause. Rather, the officer must rely on other evidence, such as witness statements and documentary evidence, to demonstrate probable cause. If a search warrant is based solely upon an officer’s belief or suspicion, without sufficient evidence to support the officer’s belief, then the resulting search warrant is invalid even though a Court issued the warrant.
Because probable cause dissipates with time, an officer must provide the issuing court facts that are closely related to the time of the issuance of the warrant. If the information supporting a search warrant is objectively “stale,” then the search warrant is invalid due to the dissipation of the probable cause supporting the search warrant.
The officer must also “particularly describe[e] the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” The failure to do so will render a search warrant invalid. If the officer’s sworn statement, or if the search warrant itself, covers too broad an area or does not identify specific items or persons, then the search warrant is invalid.
If an officer either lies about, or withholds, information that is material to the determination of probable cause in his or her sworn statement in support of the search warrant, then the search warrant is invalid. Furthermore, if the officer’s sworn statement is based on illegally obtained evidence, then this will also serve to invalidate the resulting search warrant.
What will a Berry Law attorney do to fight an invalid search warrant?
If there are reasonable grounds to challenge the admissibility of evidence obtained by law enforcement officers due to their reliance on an invalid search warrant, a Berry Law attorney will move to quash the warrant and suppress (exclude from trial) all evidence obtained during the illegal search.
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What should I do if I suspect a warrant to search my person or property is invalid?
If law enforcement officers ask for your consent to search your person or property, you have the right to refuse consent to the search and to invoke your constitutional rights by telling the officers, “I need my attorney now.” However, if officers inform you that they have a search warrant and that they will be searching your person or property although you do not consent, then you must not interfere with their ability to conduct the search. If you do so, you may be charged with obstruction, evidence tampering, or perhaps worse. Instead, as soon as you are able, contact a criminal defense attorney at Berry Law to assist you with any further legal action against you. Your Berry Law attorney will work with you to determine whether the search was based upon an invalid search warrant, and obtain the appropriate relief from the court.
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Helping the Accused Receive the Defense they Deserve
Certain challenges come with being the subject of a criminal investigation. Fortunately, there are many protections built into our Constitution, statutes, and case law designed to prevent and remedy an abuse of power by the government.
With competent criminal defense representation, you may take advantage of these protections such that you avoid conviction for a criminal offense and, even worse, the loss of your freedoms.
If you believe that you are not receiving the effective representation required to exercise all your constitutional rights in the face of a criminal investigation or prosecution, there is help.
Call (402) 466-8444 or contact an attorney online to answer any questions and start the process of hiring a criminal defense lawyer who will protect your rights.
