Alcohol & Drugs: MIP, MIC, Intoxication Legal Search??

[lizardman99]

I had a high school party a few days ago which was supposed to be a summer BBQ, but other people ended up bringing beer and other drinks. The music was turned up loud and eventually the cops came for a noise complaint. There were people on my lawn and near my house who were obviously drunk when the police officers arrived. Looking out my window I could see they were breathilyzed and given alcohol tickets. A police officer rang my door bell, and i stepped out to talk to him closing the door securely behind me. He asked me why there were drunk people on my lawn, and I told him some people brought beer to my party but I kicked them out, as they were in the front. He asked me if I had been drinking, I told him I wasn't, and submitted to a breathelyzer test. I blew 0.00 because I hadn't been drinking, but the officer insisted he was going to take a look in my house. He had seen nothing actually in the house to give him probable cause that anyone else was drinking, as everyone was in my backyard. I politely said no, and then both the cops came up to me and pressured me to let them in. Not wanting to be blamed for any beer left inside by the drunk people and having my party interrupted, I consistently said no. The officer finally said Ok I'm going to take a look inside. I said officer I consent to no search, but one opened my front door and went in, and another went through the fence gate around to the backyard. They searched my house and gave a couple people MIP's for having beer, and then left. A friend of mine (who's dad is a lawyer that was given an opportunity to be on the defense for John Mark Karr) told me that even if there are drunk people on your lawn, and the police see no evidence of drinking inside the house or in the yard that they can not search your house no matter what they say. He said they must have an actual warrant to search the property. Are these statements correct?

 

[CdwJava]

There were people on my lawn and near my house who were obviously drunk when the police officers arrived.

That's never good.

He had seen nothing actually in the house to give him probable cause that anyone else was drinking, as everyone was in my backyard.

And you know what he saw ... because???

As a note, probable cause to justify a search can come from more than just observing a crime in progress - it can be inferred under the right circumstances and is dependent upon the totality of the circumstances. A bunch of drunk or inebriated high schoolers (assuming some were also minors under the age of 18) combined with loud noise likely gave him sufficient cause to look further.

I said officer I consent to no search, but one opened my front door and went in, and another went through the fence gate around to the backyard.

Let your attorney know. MAYBE he can get the search suppressed ... it's possible, though not too likely. It all depends on ho articulate the officers are in their report and on the stand.

He said they must have an actual warrant to search the property. Are these statements correct?

Not entirely, no. The court will weigh the totality of the circumstances. This will include what they observed, smelled, heard ... as well as what they reasonably believed. There may also be a community caretaking function involved to include checking on the welfare of minors who might very well be in or to the rear of the house and inebriated and thus unable to care for themselves. Plus, if you were hosting a party and alcohol was being served (and they had reason to believe that was the case) then they might be able to make entry. The whole matter is also dependent on the laws in your un-named state.

- Carl

 

[Sibee]

An officer cant open your door, as i recall, for example if your arrested on your doorstep the officer can not enter but if the door is open they can. same with any tickets and the such however they can enter your yard or backyard if they suspect illegal activity.

 

[CdwJava]

Yes, they can open the door in certain situations where they can articulate good cause. You are right that they cannot generally cross the threshold to arrest someone inside if they have no other good cause to make entry. In this case, however, the officers were not at the home to make an arrest of t the owner, they were there looking into a problem and were probably able to articulate a public safety exception to the warrant requirement (inebriated minors) and made entry for that limited purpose.

But, whether there was good cause to make entry may ultimately be for a court to decide.

- Carl