Police Need a Warrant to Enter your Home
A common story goes like this: police officers will knock on your door, ask to look around, tell you that it will be easier on you if you consent. They explain to you that they are just going to get a warrant anyway, so what’s the point in resisting? Translated: it will be easier on the police officer if you consent so they don’t have to fill out the affidavit and wait around for the judge to sign the warrant.
Your rights in your home are strong. Without a warrant, police cannot enter a residence to search or to make an arrest unless there is imminent danger that a suspect will escape or evidence will be destroyed. Or unless you consent to the search. Consent is the easiest way for them to get inside.
You have significantly fewer rights in your car. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that a person does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their car. There are many more ways in which police can get into your car and look around without a warrant.
Evidence from an Illegal Arrest is Inadmissible!
Any evidence which an officer obtained as a result of any illegal search shall not be admitted at trial. This is called the exclusionary rule. If you were arrested illegally in your car or in your home, you can pursue your rights guaranteed you under the U.S and Texas Constitutions and have the evidence thrown out and the case against you possibly dismissed.
Police Generally Need a Warrant
Police need a warrant to make the arrest outside the home. To get one, a police officer presents an affidavit or complaint to a judge. The affidavit explains to the judge why there is probable cause for arrest, and what they are looking for.
Arrest without a Warrant
Sometimes police officers can make an arrest without a warrant
“Offenses within View”
If the officer sees you commit a crime, you can be arrested. That seems obvious enough. Texas law allows for warrantless arrests for “offenses within view.” This applies to felonies and offenses against the public peace that are committed in the officer’s presence. For instance, DWI are “offenses within view” arrests.
“Suspicious Places”
Texas law also provides for warrantless arrests for persons found in “suspicious places” and under circumstances which suggest that they have been guilty of some felony.
If you are arrested for being in a “suspicious place,” you may have done nothing wrong. If so, you are likely to feel upset and violated. If you are arrested for being in a “suspicious place” and then charged with a crime, you can win if you show the arrest was unconstitutional. That means evidence found on your person or in your car will be suppressed at trial and the charges will be dropped.
Have you been arrested for a crime? Call my office: 817-689-7002. Come into the office for a free and confidential case evaluation. Our office is downtown: 108 Main Street, Fort Worth, TX,76102
