How to Identify Who Gives Permission for a Legal Search

According to the Fourth Amendment, which protects citizens against unreasonable searches and seizures, law enforcement officials must identify the individual who gives permission for a legal search. In many cases, an individual may have the right to deny access to law enforcement officials. In other cases, however, the existence of probable cause may render a search legal regardless of whether the person being searched has given his permission.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Identify the property owner or occupant of the private residence you plan to search and ask his permission to gain entry, unless you have probable cause and a search warrant.
2. Know that the permission for a legal search shifts to law enforcement personnel once probable cause is established. Probable cause exists once there is a reasonable belief by law enforcement personnel that a crime has occurred on the premises. Suspicious activities, such as running away from police officers or making sudden or threatening gestures, can all constitute probable cause. Loud noises or crashes in another room can also create probable cause.
3. Use the concept of "plain sight" to identify law enforcement personnel as the source for permission on a legal search. Plain sight occurs when evidence of a crime can be easily seen from outside of the property in question, instantly creating probable cause. For instance, a stolen car found in a driveway or drug contraband found in a garbage can are instances of plain sight.
4. Note that permission shifts once the owner or resident has been arrested. For instance, if an individual has been arrested at home for possession of a concealed weapon, law enforcement officers no longer have to ask permission to search the rest of the house or the suspect's vehicle, since probable cause has already been established.
5. Be aware that the standards of reasonable search and seizure are considerably lower for automobiles than for residences, since there is not the same expectation of privacy inside a car as there is inside a home.

Tips & Warnings

• In order to guarantee the safety of others, law enforcement officers always retain permission to perform a "Terry frisk" (a quick patting down of exterior clothing) on any individual in public.
• Some law enforcement officials may try to bluff their way into a residence by using deceptive or obtuse language. Unless a search warrant is produced, any request for entry by law enforcement personnel may be legally denied if the citizen who is being questioned does not give permission.