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Warrantless Searches in Boston

Sunday, December 2nd, 2007

Several people have asked my opinion of this.

Technically of course, there’s no black-letter Fourth Amendment violaton if the searches or subject to the consent of the searchees. The police say that if someone denies them entry, they’ll move on.

Back in the real world, yes, this is another effort to get around the Fourth Amendment. Realistically, one of three things is likely to happen during these searches:

  • People will mistakenly assume they aren’t allowed to refuse a search.
  • Someone will refuse a search, and that refusal make them subject to police suspicion.
  • People will know that they can, technically, refuse a search, but won’t because they fear that doing so will make them subject to police suspicion.

    • Also, never underestimate the frequency with which police can spot something suspicious while peering through the doorway to your home, or with which “exigent circumstances” can magically materialize once refuse permission for a warrantless search.

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    This entry was posted on Sunday, December 2nd, 2007 at 2:36 pm by admin and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

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