Need some lawyer-type help...kinda long

Factual Questions
1

I’d like to get the opinions of some lawyers and those schooled in law of the commonwealth of Virginia to let me know if the police may have overstepped their bounds here.

A few weeks ago, my 19 year old brother had his 17 year old friend show up at the door with his 15 year old girlfriend claiming he had gotten in a fight with his mom and wanted a place to crash for the night. His mom (being the evil, evil person that she is) called the cops and said he was a runaway and might be at my house. They showed up to take them away, trying to get my brother to consent to a search of our house. He rightly refused. They said that if he didn’t allow them to fish around, they would get him for two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and obstruction of justice. He told them to get lost, which they did. Before they left, they went upstairs, woke my other brother, and searched his room, checking for “things which may threaten the life of an officer.” Keep in mind they never had a search warrant.

The other night, they showed up to pick up my brother on the above counts. Upon searching him, they found a bowl which had been used quite recently to smoke pot. They added possession of paraphanelia (sp?) to the list of charges. They then came back to my room trying to get me to allow them to search the house. I of course told them no. They then asked if I had any weapons in my bedroom. I told them that I did, and no they couldn’t look around. I asked to see an arrest warrant, and they refused. They tried to sneak out of my house without alerting my father, the owner of the house. I asked them to tell him, and they said that since he was over 18 they didn’t have to. I let my dad know, and they asked him to search the house. My dad asked for a warrant, and they didn’t have one. He also told them to get out of the house, which they eventually did.

Now, my understanding is that if they have an arrest warrant for someone and they are sure he/she is on the premisis, they are allowed to go in and get him/her, but then they must leave. By checking my room, are they violating the 4th? Also, aren’t they supposed to make sure the owner of the house is aware they are coming on his/her property?

Any help that can be provided would be greatly appreciated. Thanks all.

2

I’m confused…they didn’t check your room, right? It sounds like they just asked for your consent, which you refused.

3

True, but coming back to my room would mean they were looking around, wouldn’t it? Besides, the first time they were there, they DID search my other brother’s room without a warrant.

4

I don’t know the law, but that doesn’t sound legal to me.

5

Who let them into the house? If it wasn’t you (or a legal owner), I’m wondering if they had the right to just barge in like that.

6

This is not legal advice, and is not intended as such. No attorney client relationship is created or implied.

The search of your brothers room was probably legal. SCOTUS has ruled that the police can search the arrestee’s person and the immediate area from which he could obtain a weapon without violating the 4th.

7

For legal advice, consult a lawyer licensed to practice in your jurisdiction. This is not legal advice.

pravnik is correct. The police are permitted to search the immediate area under the arrestee’s control. They are also obviously permitted to search the arrestee’s person. Assuming they had an arrest warrant, those searches were very likely valid.

You don’t have any particular standing to demand to see the arrest warrant, by the way.

If they didn’t have a warrant, the arrest may still have been valid - or it may not have been, depending on the laws of your particular jurisdiction concerning warrantless arrests.

If the arrest was not valid, it’s unlikely that the search is valid.

The person that can answer these questions with authority is the lawyer you consult.

  • Rick
8

Ashtar, contact a local attorney at once.

The comments here are from well-intended amateurs, and are worthless except as generalizations. The specifics of your situation – exactly what the police said and did, exactly what others said and did – all can play a role.

Get thee to a lawyer. This is not a situation that Message Board folks – not even the lawyers amongst us – can really help with, other than vague generalities.

9

Directory of Legal Aid Offices in Virginia

The Code of Virginia Searchable Database

10

Astro,

Thank you. Your links are helpful.

-LA