Questions tagged [search-and-seizure]
For questions regarding legally authorized search and seizure of private property
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Can the police allow someone to look around my property for anything stolen? [closed]
I was cleaning a property when the police rolled up, said I wasn't supposed to be there.so they got a warrant for my place and allowed a man from the property to come and walk around my place to see ...
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Can teachers search our dorms without our explicit consent if they have "suspicion"?
I am a girl attending a boarding high school in the US. In June, some students who returned to the dorm early saw some male teachers exiting their rooms. They reportedly ran back to the school ...
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Did cops break the law by entering a rental home when invited by one party and denied by another?
This story brought up a bit of a debate on the legality of MD cops entering a rental home when one renter originally stated that they could not enter but another later said they could.
As I understand ...
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Stopping a warrantless police search?
In general, how much can a person do to stop a warrantless search beyond verbally refusing consent? Is there anything further that can be done to prevent the search in the first place or make legal ...
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What happens with seized money?
Daniel the drug dealer was caught with 20.000€ of illegaly earned money while crossing the border into Switzerland. The money was covered in traces of all kinds of drugs, so the court did not believe ...
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Are police legally obligated to read warrants out to you if asked?
If you ask police to read warrants out before they enter your premises, are the forced to? Can police being asked to read out a warrant and not doing so be grounds for having a warrant deemed invalid?
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If police seize property that is not on a warrant can you accuse them of theft?
If police seize property that is not on a warrant are they basically stealing from you? What is your recourse if this is to happen? Can you make a case of theft against the police or is there nothing ...
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Can I tell police to wait and call a lawyer when served with a search warrant?
Somewhat influenced by this question.
This is hypothetical question. Suppose the police turn up at my door with a search warrant. I know nothing about warrants and couldn't tell apart a search warrant ...
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What does a search warrant actually look like? How can I recognize one?
Suppose the police come to my door. “Open up,” they say. “We have a warrant to search the premises.”
How can I tell if they are telling the truth? Do they show me the warrant? If they do, how do I ...
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If one homeowner gives consent to search a house but the other homeowner does not, do the police have consent? [duplicate]
Suppose Alice and Bob are co-owners of a home. Police come to the door and ask to search the home. Bob says, "yes, you may search our home," but Alice says, "no, you may not search our ...
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Before Terry, did the Fourth Amendment require a warrant for all searches and seizures or only the "unreasonable" ones?
I'm trying to understand the direct meaning of the Fourth Amendment as best as possible. The Amendment states the following (emphasis added):
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, ...
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Why isn't FBI's access to our data against the right of privacy?
In many blogs, it's said that your search history may get you in jail, like Can Your Internet Search History Get You Arrested and Internet Searches That Could Get You Arrested. Seems that FBI can have ...
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What is required to warrant a drug raid in NYC?
Doing research for a fictional book, and I'm wondering what kind of "evidence" my characters could fabricate in order to make the DEA (or any other relevant agency) run a raid on a building. ...
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Do police need to present warrant prior to seizure?
In the United States, suppose a warrant was required for a seizure and the police properly obtained one.
Do the law enforcement officials who execute the warrant need to present that warrant prior to ...
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Search warrants for the property of people not suspected of a crime
I'm interested in the New York City jurisdiction.
Imagine a person is involved, or suspected to be involved, in a crime, yet they are not suspected of having committed any crime. For example, imagine ...
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Can the police make it a crime to put your hands in your pockets?
It is in the news that the police handcuffed a woman claiming she "reached" towards her pockets after being told not to. Looking at the government and Metropolitan Police web pages there is ...
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Ordered to unlock my car trunk. May I lawfully refuse?
Consider the hypothetical situation where I am stopped by a patrol officer. After handing over the required documents (driver's license, vehicle registration, proof of insurance), he orders me to ...
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Would it be legal to erase, disable, or destroy your phone when a CBP agent attempted to seize it?
If a Customs and Border Protection agent demanded that I give him my phone while I (a US citizen) was re-entering the US, would it be legal for me to activate some kind of "panic button" ...
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Does California v. Greenwood apply to trash still on private property?
In the 1988 case California v. Greenwood, the U.S. Supreme Court held that no warrant is needed to search or seize garbage that is placed on the street for collection, as there is "no expectation ...
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Questions about details of the UK plan to seize property of Russian Oligarchs
I refer to this Q&A in Stackexchange: Legality of penalising Russian Oligarchs by ConanTheGerbil. There's some good info there but I have some follow-up questions.
Q1. Burden of Proof.
If a ...
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Do you have the same right to privacy in regards to your car than what you have to your house?
Im just curious to know if the same rules of lawful and unlawful searches apply to your car than what applies to your house?
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Can you refuse to vacate your car when police gives you an order to do so?
Are you legally required to leave your car when a police officer tells you to do so?
If you ask police if you are under arrest and they say no then I dont see a reason why you should?
Maybe if they ...
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Can shop staff search your bag when you are selected for a random rescan?
(UK based). My question refers to the situation where you are using the "scan as you go" system in which you scan items and pack them into your bag as you go around the shop, and pay at the ...
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Does the source of DNA have a bearing on the legality of a search?
If you give your DNA to one of those Geanology sites could law enforcement try and subpoena that DNA to use against you if they don't have probable cause for a warrant for your DNA or would the issue ...
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How is a plain-clothes officer entering your house not an unreasonable search?
In Wooden v United States:
Wooden was sitting at home one evening when he heard a knock at his door. He answered to find an unknown man, who asked to speak with Wooden’s wife. Wooden invited the ...
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Would this seizure be lawful?
If a search is deemed unlawful due to lack of probable cause does that invalidate all evidence against you obtained through that search or just the evidence specific to the case?
Say, for instance, ...
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Can police arrest you to later fish for probable cause?
Do police need to have established probable cause before they arrest you, or can your actions later validate the lack of probable cause that they had when they arrested you?
I suspect this may just be ...
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In the US are you allowed to refuse a mobile breathalyzer test?
If you are stopped by the police in the US are you allowed to refuse any test to prove your sobriety? I know you have to tell the police your name, provide them with identification, insurance, and ...
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What would happen if there is an attempt by police to deceive a judge to get a warrant?
Would I be correct in saying that police have a duty to fairly represent the facts to a judge when they attempt to get a warrant to search premises? Is there some sort of oversight in regard to how ...
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In the US are you allowed to impose restriction on the government when they want to enter your house without a warrant?
If the government wishes to enter your house without a warrant and they ask your permission to do so, if you impose restrictions on what they can do or a part of the house they can or cannot enter, ...
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Example to clarify "probable cause" for a search
In Los Angeles, California, the victim of a robbery identifies his attacker as being
one of three identical triplets (and the victim saw nobody but the one attacker).
If the three triplets all live in ...
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Why doesn't the FBI crack down on websites allowing cartoon child pornography?
I was inspired to make this based off of a previous post. In the United States, visual depictions (such as drawings) of child abuse images is illegal provided they are ruled as obscene. This would ...
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Can someone be indicted for possession of illegal material through access logs alone?
If police obtained a search warrant to seize a suspect's electronics on suspicion of illegal material on their hard drive on account of them having access logs that the suspect viewed such material, (...
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What is the threshold for probable cause to run a drug-sniffing dog around a car in Pennsylvania?
What is the threshold for probable cause to run a drug-sniffing dog around a car in Pennsylvania?
My husband was pulled over in Pennsylvania. There was nothing in arms reach out in plain sight to ...
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What is a legal response if police illegally try to enter your home?
Say the police turn up at your house with a search warrant. They show it to you, and it is more than 3 months old and so invalid, and therefore does not give them the right to enter your house. You ...
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Search Warrant Verification
In Los Angeles, California, if apparent police show up at my door with an apparent search warrant in their hands at 3am, how can I independently verify this?
I don't want to be tricked into opening ...
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Can the police seize your phone without a warrant UK?
This question relates to the seizure of a mobile phone (cell phone) in the United Kingdom, focusing on England and Wales which has a different system to Scotland.
If the police arrest someone over a ...
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Under what circumstances are you required to stop and/or answer questions by the police?
After this case of suspected harassment by the police in England in response to refusal to provide a name while walking to catch a train I wondered when you are required to stop, and when you are ...
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Sovereign immunity and recovering seized property
Can sovereign immunity defeat an attempt to recover seized property? For instance, if a cop seizes some cash asserting that it is "drug money", and the owner sues to recover it, can the ...
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Is incriminating evidence in plain sight if a computer mouse had to be bumped to reveal it?
Let's say I have willingly invited the police into my living room. Earlier I had been planning some highly illegal activities on my computer, located in the living room, and thus had incriminating ...
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What damage can police cause during a search?
Consider the following hypothetical: police in California raid a home (with a warrant) to search for drugs.
The home in question has a security system in place which includes CCTV cameras. Wanting to ...
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Search of deceased person's residence following fatal incident at work
I am a British writer trying to get law enforcement procedure right in a thriller set in San Diego, CA. (There are numerous plot reasons that prevent me placing this action in e.g. the UK where I am ...
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Cloud storage: requesting copy of data vs physical seizure of storage devices
If a third party has a personal computer which contains evidence of a crime then that computer can be seized by law enforcement as evidence, rather than the data being copied from the computer and the ...
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If I owe state taxes, can the state seize a relative's property in retaliation?
I live in the United States and I owe taxes to the state, which I'm not able to pay. I don't have a permanent residence and live with family/friends.
One of my family members received a letter stating ...
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Is a warrant required to access your SMS activity in the UK?
How long is it saved and under what circumstances can it be retrieved by the state?
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In the USA can a child legally authorize a search of a residence he lives in?
Let's say the police want to search a location they don't have a warrant to search and don't believe the owner of the property would consent to a search. So they wait until the owner has left and ask ...
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Does allowing a police officer into your house implicitly waive your Fourth Amendment rights?
Suppose a police officer knocks on your door and tells you there was a robbery in the neighborhood and asks if he can ask you some questions about it, but really what he wants is to collect evidence ...
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Can I claim if Customs open & damage my parcel even though contents clearly labelled & nothing was found
A model train was sent from Canada to UK & clearly marked. It took a year to make & was then sold. It has been drilled by customs from bottom to top & the buyer no longer wants it. He was ...
LEN TONGUE
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Is the suspicion of unnecessary travel during "shelter in place" statutes sufficient probable cause for a traffic stop?
Many state governments have declared temporary "shelter in place" statutes due to Covid-19 that restrict unnecessary travel by vehicle. I know this will vary by jurisdiction: but generally, is the ...
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4th Amendment Electronics Data Privacy at Borders
What are the contours of when electronic devices (phone / laptop) can be searched / seized? Specifically:
An American lands in JFK and CBP demands to search electronics, under what circumstances ...
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