Pinellas County Florida Criminal Lawyer Blog

Can the police search my house after I've been arrested?

Probably not.  Unless you invited them in to search, or some one else who lives in your house did, or you were arrested in your home.

But if you were arrested outside of your home, and no one else that the police are looking for are inside, and no one invites them into search, AND IF THE POLICE DO NOT HAVE A WARRANT TO SEARCH THE INSIDE OF THE HOUSE; then the police can not go in to search. 

Be sure you are aware of your rights.  The police may try to convince you that you will be in less trouble if you let them in.  YOU DO NOT HAVE TO LET THEM IN. 

In a Second DCA case from May 29, 2009, the police arrested a man inside of his home, secured him in the back of the car, and went back into the house to do a "protective sweep."  Inside of the house, the police found a gun, and in addition to being arrested for a violation of probation, the man was arrested for felon in possession of a firearm.  The Second DCA said the police could not go back into the house, once the man had been arrested and secured into the back of the patrol car. 

What's a protective sweep? See upcoming blog posts for the answer.

On April 21, 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down an opinion which will directly affect the manner in which law enforcement in Florida, and across the country, can search vehicles during traffic stops.  Prior to this decision, law enforcement typically searched a vehicle once the driver or a passenger was arrested for any crime, even a traffic charge such as Driving while License is Suspended or Revoked.  Practically speaking, this meant that when a driver was arrested and placed in the back of the officer's patrol car in handcuffs, the police could search the car. 

 

 
The case of Arizona v. Gant clarified some of the Supreme Court's previous cases which addressed this issue, and concluded that "Police may search a vehicle incident to a recent occupant's arrest only if the arrestee is within reaching distance of the passenger compartment at the time of the search, or it is reasonable to believe the vehicle contains evidence of the offense of arrest."  This means that if you are arrested for a crime involving drugs or guns, they can still search the car once you are arrested.  However, if the arrest is for a traffic offense or something that a search of the car has nothing to do with, they should not be able to search.

Be aware that the police will use coercive tactics to get your consent to search, or may be able to conduct an inventory search if your car is impounded.  However, the law now in place should prevent unbridled searches of vehicles if police are following the law.

 

Like all things legal - that depends . . .

I was reading a recent case from Florida's Third District Court of Appeals where a juvenile driver was stopped for an expired tag.  The officer decided not to give him a citation since the tag was only 10 days expired.  As the officer was about to let him go, the officer asked, 

 "[I]s there anything on you or in this vehicle that I need to know about. Illegal, that I need to know about." D.A. responded, "[Y]eah, there's a baggy of marijuana which is in the center console." Nunez seized the bag of marijuana and arrested D.A." 

  D.A. argued on appeal that because the traffic stop was ending in no issuance of a citation, the officer had no right or probable cause to ask more questions.   See D.A. v. State of Florida, 3rd DCA, April 29, 2009.

The 3rd DCA agreed with the cop.  The Court said that because a traffic stop is a legal seizure, the officer was justified in asking a question.  Interestingly, had D.A. refused to answer; the officer, without probable cause, couldn't have done anything further.  Specifically the court said:  "That law includes the ability to ask unrelated questions, subject, of course, to the right of the detainee to refuse to answer." (Emphasis added)

The answer to the question above: No, you shouldn't lie, BUT maybe you should refuse to answer. Just be quiet, and don't talk, the more you talk the bigger the hole you usually dig.  Besides, the police will usually twist your words and lie themselves, so it usually does no good to talk.