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Excerpt from Attorney Ralph Behr’s Book. Street Smarts- Criminal Law 1.01 – Search and Seizure. Can the Police Enter My House?

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100 ‘most asked ‘ questions

CAN THE POLICE ENTER MY HOUSE?

No.

Only with a warrant or “exigent” circumstances such as: they are chasing you, they get an emergency call that someone is being beaten or shot, a fire emergency.

You have a heightened expectation of privacy in your home.  Therefore the police must get a search warrant before they can enter your home, or have a real good reason to tell the judge.

What is a home?

The law protects persons:  not places.  So what is in your mind is determinative.

Your home can be anywhere you feel like home:  at a hotel room, as an overnight guest, in your room in a rooming house.  It is always an open issue and an arguable question:  like a snail who carries his home on his back:  think home.

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