a friend’s house was recently searched because the neighbors filed a complaint. the cops showed up at the door and asked to search the house due to suspected marijuana growth. Being the idiot he is, he let them in when the cops said they had a warrent to search but it was in the cruiser. Of course the cops found nothing and left.
Now, I argued that the cops didnt have a warrent or they would’ve showed it. But he says under some circumstances, police can search a house without a warrent.
so my question is, Under wat circumstances, can a police officer search a residence without a warrant.
now i understand that some members has had bad experiences with the popo, but plz set ur prejudice aside when answering the question. ty
In America no, not unless you have committed a crime on the property and they are already in the residence and happen to see it. If they have no warrant and you don’t let them in they are SOL.
In America they can also let you in if something illegal is in plain view from outside, if they look in the windows or whatever, or if they have some type of hard probable cause to suspect that something illegal is going on. (Hearing a scream, seeing a bloody knife on the ground, etc.) When they busted into OJ’s house without a warrant it actually held up that they saw the bloody glove outside and had reason to believe he was in danger also after they found his wife and Goldman.
The Cops will pretend they have the right to search your property and most people fall for it and give them permission. In this case, your friend could of said “No, come back with a warrant” and closed the door.
He allowed them in, so they’re good. The whole, “they said the warrant was in the car” thing is a little gray area. If it went to trial the exact wording of that exchange would be important. If it was more along the lines of, “we can go get a warrant and tear every inch of your place apart, or you can let us in for a quick search and have this over with” that’s ok. If your friend really did ask to see the warrant and they said it’s in the car and proceeded to search without permission anything they find would be inadmissible. I never trust 3rd party versions of “he said, they said”, even less so when that 3rd party spells warrant, “warrent”.
Basically though when the cops show up at your door and ask to search tell them you want to see the warrant and if they can’t show it to you tell them to leave. Other than them hearing someone screaming or seeing something illegal in plain sight when you open the door they do not have any right to a search without a warrant.
EDIT: Stupid cross border forum.
Disregard everything said by everyone so far as no one posting is from Canada or all that familiar with their search and seizure laws.
Since you are in Canada, I will give you our laws.
Unless they SEE something, there are not allowed to enter the premises. Smell something? Who cares, blow smoke in their face, you can say its tobaco, why do you think they have narcotic dogs? They need to present a valid warrant.
They cannot search the house without a warrant, unless at the present time they see something or smell something that maybe illegal.
Example: Smelling weed in the air.
