Can the police enter your home without your permission or without giving you a reason as to why they are there or who they are there for?

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Can the police enter your home without your permission or without giving you a reason as to why they are there or who they are there for?

The police came to the place I was staying. My roommate answered the door. The officer asked her name and said he wanted to talk to her roommate. She told him to wait and she would see if i was home. She partitally shut the door and by the time she went 5 feet the officer was in the house behind her. He was there because i had a warrant for a parole violation. He never told her my name or that there was a warrant, just that he needed to talk to her roommate.

Asked on June 1, 2009 under Criminal Law, Iowa

Answers:

M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 14 years ago | Contributor

To execute an arrest warrant under these circumstances, the authorities must "knock and announce".  The general rule for knock and announce is that before agents force entry into a residence to execute a warrant - either an arrest warrant or a search warrant - they have to “knock and announce” their identity, authority and purpose and demand entry from the people inside.  If they don't receive permission to enter they may then use force to get inside.  Here, your door was open so force was not necessary.

This is an ever changing and technical area of the law.   If you think that your rights may have been violated, talk to a criminal attorney. 


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