When police ask to come into your home, you don’t have to give them consent. But if you do not consent, they may go to a judge and get a search warrant. This means that they can enter your home whether you would like them to or not, as they have the legal right to execute that search warrant.
But a search warrant itself doesn’t mean that the police can do anything that they please. The warrant is going to have certain limits or restrictions that have to be observed. As a general rule, police officers are only allowed to search for items that the warrant lists and go into the location that is specifically noted in that documentation.
How this can affect the search
For example, perhaps the police get a search warrant that says they can go into your garage and search for illegal drugs, which they believe you are storing there. They can execute this warrant without your consent, but it doesn’t give them the right to also go into your home to search for those illegal drugs. Additionally, officers cannot begin searching for other items – such as unregistered firearms or stolen property – when they are supposed to be looking for narcotics or other types of drugs.
In some situations, things can get more complex if the police see items in plain view. They can then expand the search to include these items, and they may even be able to search in other locations when necessary. In some cases, the police can extend their search if they believe they need to do so to protect themselves.
But as a general rule, the police do have to adhere to the limitations in the warrant. If they do not and you end up facing charges, be sure you understand all of your defense options.
