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In the United States, you have many rights. One of these is a right to privacy on your own property. Generally speaking, you always get to decide who is allowed on your property and who is not.
This even extends to the police. An officer may come to your door and tell you that they’d like to take a look around your house. People sometimes believe that they have to do everything a police officer says simply because they are in a position of authority, but that’s not always the case. The officer is asking for your consent to enter the house. If you don’t give it to them, they can’t force their way inside, or they would be performing an illegal search of the home.
Are there any exceptions?
Yes, there are some exceptions to the need for consent. One is an emergency. Maybe the officer claims they heard gunshots inside the house, so they think people are in danger. Or perhaps they are pursuing a suspect who they just watched commit a crime at a different location, and that person ran into the house. If there’s a valid emergency, then the police may be able to enter the home, whether or not they have consent.
The second exception is if they get a search warrant. This warrant means that they don’t need permission to carry out the search; they’ve already gotten it from a judge. That said, it’s important to remember that search warrants can have many restrictions, such as noting exactly what part of the property can be searched, what evidence the police should be looking for or when the search warrant can be executed.
Do you believe that the police may have performed an illegal search while conducting an investigation? If so, they may not be able to use evidence that was illegally gathered in a trial, so it’s critical that you understand all of your legal defense options.