The police can enter your house under certain circumstance; exigency (legal emergency), chasing a fleeing felon/suspect, upon your permission or with a search warrant. The most important part which really matters and you have the most control is when they have no search warrant and it’s not an emergency. I’ll cover that part first and then move on to the others.

1. Do I have to let the police in my house?… if they have no search warrant?

NO! There are exceptions but they are discussed in number 3 below. If there is no emergency and you did not call the police, you don’t have to allow them inside your house.

In fact, you should never open your door for the police if you didn’t call them, you don’t need their help, nor do they have a search warrant. Know your rights!

If you do open your door, try to stay several feet inside. The police can arrest you without a search warrant if you are not inside your house or if any part of you is not inside your house. If you have one arm or leg outside your door, they could yank you outside. However, they are not allowed inside your house without your permission.

If they try to step inside, tell them they are not authorized to come inside without a warrant. You can choose to speak through an open door or window but that also invites you to say things which could later be used against you.

The best practice is to not talk to the police unless you have a situation where you need them. Even then, tell them only enough to get assistance but do not volunteer anything more. It’s advisable that you call your attorney ASAP or while the police is present, if at possible

2. What do I do if the police shows me a search warrant?

The Constitution of United States deems our privacy in our homes very sacred and special. I don’t want to get into the long history of it, but there is a reason why there is a saying that, “A home is a man’s (person’s) castle.”

In order for the government or its agents (police, sheriffs, FBI and other law enforcement) to enter your home without an emergency, they must first provide you with a search warrant.

That search warrant has to be VERY specific. It has to EXACTLY spell the name of the person to be sought, the location (address) to be searched, list the items the police is wanting or thinking they’ll find, the area of the house most likely the item may be, and it must have the signature of a judge or magistrate. If any part of this is missing, it’s not a properly executed warrant. If it’s not a properly executed warrant, you don’t have to let the police inside your house. Simply ask them to come back with a proper warrant. They may stick around the house until that happens, but at least they won’t come immediately and without proper authorization.

Once the police enters, try to be very respectful but do not talk. If you are arrested, give your name, date of birth and ask to speak to a lawyer. Say NOTHING else. The next word out of your mouth should be for your attorney only!

3. Are there times when the police could enter my house anyway without any permission?

Yes, there are certain situation where the police could enter your house without a warning, a request, or a warrant. For example, if they have been chasing a dangerous suspect and this person decided to enter your house via an open door or window, the police will enter in order to protect you from such invader.

The police may also enter if there has been an emergency-call placed from within the house or from someone who has the right to possess the house (resident/renter) and asks the police to enter because a child or someone else may be at risk.

Sometimes police can enter when they conduct a “welfare check.” This could be a call from a concerned relative or employer, for example, of someone who has been non-responsive for at least a couple of days. That time can be shorter if the person whose welfare is being checked is one very fragile or too young.

There are many other situations which I have not covered here and the list is not exhaustive. Please use common sense when handling police matters. Do not let your emotions ruin your chances of a good defense.

My posts/blogs are to be taken for academic purposes only and NOT LEGAL ADVICE. Nothing on my blogs should lead you to believe there is an attorney-client relationship, nor that I am giving legal advice.

Please call my office at (714) 321-9999 for a free consultation to discuss your specific matter where a good criminal defense attorney could give proper legal advice.

Police officer’s past bad behavior can be discovered with the Brady Motion in your current case. Brady was a court case which caused the ruling for which there is now a motion. It forces disclosure of important facts about your officer’s prior dealings and tendencies. It helps the defense attack the reliability, thoroughness, or good faith of the police investigation.

The Brady Motion can be used for prying loose police reports that show:

-inconsistent behavior or statements by police

-incompetence or failure to follow guidelines or protocols for investigation, and

-general sloppiness in investigating the crime or in failing to follow leads or investigate anything that wouldn’t help convict your client.

It is also very useful for obtaining information about informants, deals and other crimes that may have given witnesses a motive to lie in your case, or given the police a motive to frame your client.

Even if something would not be admissible at trial, if it fits within the definition of Brady material, it must be disclosed. The key to Brady is that the defense must be given all favorable information it is then up to defense counsel to figure out a way, if possible, to use it. Contrary to what many prosecutors believe, the fact that a document or piece of information may be inadmissible does not relieve them of their obligation to disclose it under Brady.

Even if the prosecutor thinks that the Brady material is unreliable or unbelievable, he or she must disclose it. It is for defense counsel, not the prosecutor to decide whether the Brady material is reliable enough to be used. For example: the excuse that the other guy who confessed was crazy and unbelievable does not relieve the prosecution from the due process obligation to inform the defense about the other guy and his confession.

In Kyles v. Whitley, the U.S. Supreme Court explicitly said that the individual prosecutor has an affirmative duty to learn of any favorable evidence known to the other people and agencies acting on the government’s behalf on the case, including the police.

1. Inconsistent descriptions by different witnesses of the criminal.
2. Inconsistent descriptions by different witnesses of the crime.
3. The fact that some of the witness’s descriptions of the criminal matched the police informant
4. That there were pending charges against the police informant
5. That there was an ongoing investigation of the police informant concerning other crimes.
6. That the police informant made inconsistent statements to the police about the crime and about his accusation of the defendant
7. That the police had other leads and information that they failed to follow up on or investigate, that could have pointed the finger at someone other than the defendant.
8. That before accusing the defendant, one of the witnesses previously said that she had not actually seen the crime
9. That a witness’s description of the crime and/or the criminal became more “accurate†and more certain after the witness met with police and/or prosecutors, or after the witness testified at a first hearing or trial.
10. That a witness’s prior statements omit significant details or facts that the witness remembered at trial.
11. That a witness’s trial testimony omitted significant details or facts that the witness mentioned in prior statements.
12. That a witness or informant made statements that incriminated himself in the crime charged against the defendant.

Call the Law Office of Wais Azami with any questions. We offer free consultations and flexible appointment times.

This information shall not be deemed legal advice, nor shall it create any attorney-client relationship. It is merely for informational purposes or academic purposes.

Most people are under the impression that you have to talk to the police or answer all of their questions. It couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s true we are all raised to respect the police and to fully comply with authority. That usually means that the authoritative figure has a good reason to stop us and inquire about anything they want.

We are used to answering detailed questions posed by our parents, older relatives, teachers, church leaders and the like but you should Know your rights. We assume they are trying to get to the bottom of something important which is ultimately to either help us or to help us learn from our mistake.

Generally, we don’t question them. We don’t ask why they want to know. We don’t dare do such things because we are taught that we don’t know better. Further, it’s rude to question authority. After all, who are we to question the motives of someone older, wiser, and more educated?

This is even more true when within certain cultures. In most non-American cultures, people with authority are assumed to have the utmost power and right to question someone below their level, age or position in life. They have a god complex. Respect is shown by not disobeying such people.

However, in America, things are different. Rules are different.

But, do I have to talk to the police?

As I said earlier, you only have to provide your name and date of birth to the police. That is all that is legally required of you. The ONLY other thing you want to say is, “I want my lawyer” or “I want a lawyer.”

Do I have to talk to the police? Know your rights?

The police is legally allowed to lie to you. They can trick you. They can use pressure tactics to make you talk. When you talk, you give out information. That information could put you in a scene of a crime, admit to an illegal conduct, or offer other evidence which could be used against you or your loved ones.

When the police talk to you, they have already made up their mind as to whether or not they’ll let you go. You cannot talk your way out of anything, Know your rights. If you have been previous lucky due to police letting you go after talking to you, it does not mean it was your skills. It could have been another emergency to which they had to respond or another reason.

The people who are at most risk of talking to the police are the highly educated or highly intelligent people who believe they could outsmart a cop. However, when they talk, it’s recorded on camera or in notes. It’s not one officer who looks at all of that which came out of the person’s mouth. There will be many highly intelligent people (sergeants, shift leaders, captains, district attorneys, etc.,) who will read the same report and parse every word carefully.

Then they will re-interview the same person and try to trip them up about what they said. At that point, the person will either be a liar or give different evidence and dig a bigger hole. If they had never talked, nothing could be used against them nor could they be deemed a liar.

A good criminal attorney could speak for you. If you really want to tell the police something, do it in a way which won’t hurt you later. You can still talk via an attorney. However, the attorney can help filter things which could harm you tremendously down the road.

The biggest reason people want to talk to the police is to avoid being taken into custody. They feel they’ll be released if they cooperate. However, by talking, one creates a risk that they’ll ultimately be in custody for much longer. Think about it; you say anything not to spend one night in jail but end up giving information which later puts you in there for months or years. Was saving yourself for one or two nights really worth singing like a canary?

Remember, you have to say only things to the police:

1. Your name

2. Your date of birth

3. “I want a lawyer.”

What about police searches?

The topic of whether you should allow police to search is discussed thoroughly here.

That’s it. Nothing else. Best of luck and please pass on this information. I’ll post more about search warrants on the next blog. Please don’t miss it as it’s equally important.

Wais Azami, Esq.

My posts/blogs are to be taken for academic purposes only and NOT LEGAL ADVICE. Nothing on my blogs should lead you to believe there is an attorney-client relationship, nor that I am giving legal advice.

Please call my office at (714) 321-9999 for a free consultation to discuss your specific matter where I could then give proper legal advice.