Know your rights. Your home could be searched illegally.

The Modesto Bee reported today that the The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that police cannot enter a home to conduct a search when they are welcomed in by one occupant but turned away by another.

The major concern with The Modesto Police Department seems to be how the ruling will affect Domestic Violence Victims. If the law is applied correctly, a person can call the police to report a crime on the property but the police could be turned away by the person possibly comitting the crime.

In the article in The Bee, MPD Chief Roy Wasden states that the ruling will "complicate" department procedure which required the consent of only one occupant to search a home without a warrant.

Wasden goes on to say, "Typically, if someone lives in the home and consents to the search, that's been good enough in the past," he said. "We have to recognize the rule has changed."

Wasden seems particualry concerned that the extra time needed to procure a proper search warrant would give some victims of domestic violence an opportunity to decide not to cooperate with police.

In the future if a crime is believed to have taken place and consent is not given, officers will surround the home and and wait for the proper warrant to be issued. They will not be allowed in with a warrant.

This brings up some interesting issues and I would like to know how our readers feel. I have heard of cases where people regret calling the police on a loved one because they did it in the heat of the moment. With the current law, a person calls the police and an arrest is made. Lives are immediately affected. With the new law people will have more time to work things out as a family.

Is that a good thing? How much power should the police have? Have you have any personal experiences with this issue?

Submitted by Motown Mojo on Thu, 2006-03-23 14:30.

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Police

I just recently moved from my last apartment due to the lack of police involvement in ongoing domestic violence disputes. Despite repeated calls from numerous neighbors, two apartments in our five-unit building had daily fights, in public view, with children present. Both the police and landlords were never available to ease the tension, and the women involved continued to come back and live with their respective abusers. Part of the problem is that the police lack proper resources to try and deal with these situations, and their presense usually only complicates matters. I know that just because someone invites the police in to search a home, regardless, a warrant should be issued so that nothing can be held against them in case of an emergency. A friend of mine in Ceres called the police for help, and her home was searched and a small amount of marijuana was taken in as "evidence." She was asking for help from an abusive husband, and was fined for possesssion. Are there any right answers? The police department has a lot of things to worry about with increasing crime in the city, and yet the only time I see them is busting up a party or cruising downtown for parking violations. More support would be nice, from the community as a whole, to raise awareness of domestic violence, and more programs available for women to escape the abuse. This seems like something the police will "forget" when the time comes to raid a home, since none of these laws seem to apply during heightened situations.

Submitted by Anastasia on Thu, 2006-03-23 19:12.

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well I do believe that it is

well I do believe that it is a good idea because from the experiences I have heard many about. Police around here often barge into the house without a warrent. Either that or force their ways in.

In a way it could be considered a good thing, because now police won't be able to go in illegally now. UNLESS consent is given by each party in the household.

Now I wonder if that will REALLY stop the police from committing the same acts by just going in without a warrent. They do have their ways of saying no they did not go in and blah blah blah.

My stand on this. It's a good idea. I'm sure though, there will be some downfalls to this new law.

Submitted by silentprotext on Thu, 2006-03-23 19:19.

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