Illegal Search and Seizure
When police want to search your home, your car, or other property, they almost always need to have probable cause or a warrant to legally do so. The fourth amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects you from unreasonable search and seizure. Police who do not follow laws regarding searches are violating a citizen’s basic rights.
Protecting Your Rights
The police sometimes try to get around this protection by simply asking you if they can search your property. The request may sound more like a demand, and you may feel that cannot or should not decline. However, you do not have to submit to any request to have your property searched. If the police proceed to conduct the search anyway, they may be violating detailed search and seizure procedures and therefore may be violating your right to privacy.
Improper Searches & Arrests
Sometimes police come across illegal materials or evidence of a crime while conducting an improper search. If it can be shown that the search procedure violated your rights, that evidence may be thrown out of court and charges made against you based on improperly gathered evidence may be dropped. In other instances, the police may be conducting a legal search for evidence of one crime and may come across evidence of other unrelated criminal activity. Generally, if the police search your property with a warrant, they have to abide by the terms of the warrant and cannot arrest you for other property or knowledge discovered during the search if it is unrelated to the original reason for the search.
If you have been arrested and believe that you were subjected to improper search and seizure, contact a criminal defense lawyer immediately. He or she will fight to protect your 4th amendment right and help to ensure that improperly seized evidence is not used against you.
Contact Us
For assistance with your defense against improper search and seizure, please contact an experienced West Palm Beach criminal attorney from Eric N. Klein & Associates, P.A. today at 561-353-2800.
