If you’ve been checking in on our blogs and tuning in to In Your Defense, you know that we are breaking down search warrants and their components. The ability law enforcement has to enter and search someone’s house, phone, and car seems contradictory to the personal freedoms and our right to privacy which is protected under the Fourth Amendment.
There is no question as to how closely and carefully we should monitor search warrants and restrict police access into our personal spaces, so let’s take a look at four factors to keep in mind if the police have obtained a search warrant to access and search your domain.
Knock-knock! Who’s there?
If you’ve paid any attention to the news cycle over the last year, you know that the action of knocking and announcing law enforcement presence with a search warrant for your property can quickly turn into a life-or-death situation, especially in Texas where we proudly own weapons and have the right to defend our castle. For this reason, amongst others, the rule in Texas is that police must knock, identify themselves, and provide the landowner with a copy of the search warrant. That is the general rule, and police are bound to follow it; however, that old saying—for every rule, there is an exception—is true when it comes to the requirements for entry we’ve just discussed here.
So, what’s the exception to the rule?
Typically, no-knock warrants, warrants for which police have no obligation to knock and announce and can just barge into your home, like what happened to Breonna Taylor, are generally deemed to be unreasonable outside of some specific reason. That’s doublespeak for “yes, they can just barge into your home unannounced,” but there must be specific reason for a no-knock warrant to be issued.
One way the police can obtain a no-knock warrant is to explain to the judge or magistrate why it’s so imperative for them to enter a suspect’s home in such a potentially dangerous manner—citing concern that evidence will be lost or destroyed without surprise entry is one way law enforcement gets around that requirement to knock and announce.
Are there instances where a standard search warrant that requires knock and announce could be overridden and carried out as a no-knock warrant? Absolutely, and it can be deemed lawful when the offending officer describes what changed or that their safety was perhaps in jeopardy. This is why it’s of the utmost importance to have sage legal counsel to fight for exclusionary rule or a motion to suppress the evidence obtained from the standard search warrant that suddenly became a no-knock entry on the whims of the police serving and searching your property.
Stay in your lane.
We’ve covered in some detail the parameters for search listed in a lawful search warrant, and the importance of searches remaining restricted by those areas listed in the warrant is something we can’t stress enough. Reviewing those search areas listed in the warrant and defending your Fourth Amendment right to privacy could save you a world of trouble.
Time is on your side.
You can blast that old Rolling Stones tune, “Time is On My Side” when it comes to lawfully executed search warrants. Remember that 72-hour window we discussed? It’s still a morsel of protection that can save you in the long-run. As soon as the judge signs on that dotted line, time starts ticking. Always, always, always review the date and time the search warrant was signed to be sure the police are within the legal period of time to search.
These are just a few of the unlimited requisites that make or break a search warrant. If you have any questions about search warrants, if you’ve been served with a search warrant, or if you’ve been arrested or charged and a search warrant is at issue in your case, reach out to us immediately so we can fight to exclude any evidence unlawfully obtained.
Keep following us on social media, and continue to check in on our blogs, especially in our next discussion that will encapsulate the ways to exclude evidence against you.