The Fourth Amendment, first written over two hundred years ago, is what protects the citizens of the United States against illegal search and seizure. Specifically, it states that “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
Despite this, people are pulled over and searched frequently, and probable cause is a fairly gray area. So how do you know when a search and seizure is legal?
The essence is finding the balance between respecting the privacy of a country’s citizens and being able to successfully conduct investigations into illegal activities and stop them. Personal places or information like your car, office, home, bank account records, phone records, etc, are only protected if the police have no probable cause in order for them to find evidence that a crime has been committed and to get a judge to issue a warrant, or certain. circumstances that allow a search to be made without one.
There are many possibilities that allow this to take place. For example, if the police hear a gunshot from the next room, or they see a suspect running away, a search may be legal. The expectation of privacy, however, only exists with places that are unseen. If the police see a crime being committed in a house through a window, they may be able to do a search without a warrant. This also applies to cars – if the police pull you over for a traffic ticket and see an illegal substance or activity through the windows, they may be able to search your car without a warrant.
There are also times where it may be in your best interest to consent to a search to avoid possible charges of inhibiting a police investigation. In a situation where multiple people live in the same home, one tenant can give consent to search their personal spaces and common areas in the home, but cannot consent to have their roommates’ spaces searched. The same applies for spouses – one spouse cannot give consent on behalf of the other.
The police may also be able to bypass a warrant if they have cause to believe that the time needed to obtain one would result in a public safety issue, destruction of evidence, or a criminal getting away. However, whether police had enough cause to believe that this is happening will be decided later in the courts, as it is a slippery slope and can be a very subjective issue.
Thank you for visiting the Gabriella Young blog, an Austin Criminal Defense Lawyer. We write to inform locals about law changes, events and news.