You’re sitting in your living room and there’s a knock on the door. It’s the police, and they want to come inside your home.
It’s a question many residents ask, but don’t always know the answer for: Do you have to let them in?
The rights of a resident in their home is a subject that surfaces in various situations, such as roommate disputes, criminal matters, emergency situations and more.
So, what are those rights?
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Consent
Williamsburg-area defense attorney Ivan Fehrenbach said consent plays a large part in most search or home-entry cases.
If police do not have a warrant, they need the consent of the home’s resident to enter under the Fourth Amendment. Fehrenbach said a resident is able to refuse permission politely.
“I would emphasize you do not have to give consent,” Fehrenbach said. “And the officers do not need to inform you that you have a right to refuse. Don’t expect to be educated by the officers.”
Capt. Troy Lyons of the York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office said a search is not permissible if one homeowner gives permission but the other denies it.
“Yes people can and do deny law enforcement entry into a home,” Lyons said.
A resident can grant permission for entry in a way that limits the scope of a search. For example, if officers are looking for a wanted person, the resident can only allow officers to search in areas where people can hide — not in drawers or other places.
Without a warrant or homeowner permission, law enforcement cannot enter a home unless officers are in a hot pursuit or there are “exigent circumstances.”
Exigent circumstances mean a reasonable person would believe entry was necessary to prevent physical harm to officers or others, the destruction of evidence, escape of the suspect or other similar situations.
Law enforcement also cannot search the curtilage around a house, such as inside a fence, without permission.
Trash at the curb, on the other hand, is fair game for a search because it’s been “abandoned,” Fehrenbach said.
Property
Generally, residents’ property rights are no different whether they are a renter or homeowner, Lyons said.
There are no legal restrictions that prevent roommates from rummaging through the other’s belongings, whether both residents are on the lease or not.
Possessing a firearm in a home, even if that person doesn’t have a concealed carry permit, is also legal, Lyons said. The exception is when a person is a convicted felon and their gun rights have been revoked.
Law enforcement officers also cannot send a drone over a home to search that particular property without a warrant, Lyons said. If the drone is legally flying for another reason and observes contraband on a property during that time, that could likely be used as probable cause to get a search warrant, Lyons noted.
If an officer approaches a house and can see an obviously illegal item “in plain view,” such as drug paraphernalia, Fehrenbach said they can have the right to seize that item even if they haven’t been given permission to step through the door.
WYDaily reporter Alexa Doiron contributed to this report.
