# The police wanted to search my home. What?? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 18, 2014, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-police-wanted-to-search-my-home-what/698799 "2014-09-18T04:46:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2014, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-police-wanted-to-search-my-home-what/698799/121 "2014-09-23T16:16:13Z")
> [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](#): > > Was it legal to keep me from calling my brother? Not really. At that point and several others you could have just said “Am I under arrest or being detained in an official capacity” and if the answer is anything other than “yes” you can pretty much do as you want. They don’t have to provide the means but if you have a cell phone on you its a major risk to stop you. > [@Mangetout](#): > > Are they permitted to gain that consent by threatening to return and kick the door in? This goes to another thread but in this circumstance they can threaten, lie, cheat, bluff, bluster, bully and do damn near anything they want short of actually touching you or pretending to be a clergy or someone like that. > [@Urbanredneck](#): > > At the same time if evidence WAS found, can’t it be thrown out of court if it was obtained illegally? See above – as long as you said the magic words like “go ahead” or “sure” it was all legal and legally obtained. Depending on what they see or find they may be advised to send someone to get a formal search warrant while a couple sit on your place (and the evidence) but in most jurisdictions cops get a freer hand than even they really like. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2014, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-police-wanted-to-search-my-home-what/698799/122 "2014-09-23T16:47:41Z")
You handled it very well, **BBB**. Always insist on a warrant. > [@zweisamkeit](#): > > Not all of us are law buffs. 🙂 Could you expound a bit on these? > [@lawbuff](#): > > Minnesota v. Carter (guest expectation of privacy). > > [http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=000&invol=97-1147](http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=000&invol=97-1147) > > Fernandez v. California, citing Randolph, who has authority to permit home entry to search by police. > > [FERNANDEZ v. CALIFORNIA | Supreme Court | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute](http://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/12-7822) Short version: if you occupy the entire home you can consent to a search of the entire home. The exception is the private room of an overnight-or-longer guest, who has a reasonable expectation of privacy in that room and its contents. To put it in layman’s terms: your wife can consent to a search of your entire house, unless you are present _at the same time_ and objecting. The OP’s mother could consent to a search of the OP’s entire house unless the police had reason to believe she did not control the entire premises (presumably she told them she was living with the OP rather than the other way round and they respected that.) ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2014, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-police-wanted-to-search-my-home-what/698799/123 "2014-09-25T12:26:47Z")
I’m being paranoid but please check under mom’s bed for a recording device. As for the phone, they didn’t want you recording what they were doing. You have every right to record them in public but they were sure bending the heck out of the law and didn’t want you to record it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-police-wanted-to-search-my-home-what/698799.md?page=6)