On Fri, 21 May 2010 19:38:57 -0400, aemeijers wrote:

Evan wrote:
On May 20, 5:15 pm, "HeyBub" wrote:
Evan wrote:

A search warrant is required for authorities (typically the police,
but could
apply to the fire marshal, building inspector or health inspector as
well)
when a home owner denies entry and refuses to grant permission for the
government agents to enter private property...
It is the ONLY legal way for the authorities to gain entrance to
private
property without some sort of exigent emergency situation existing...
There are other ways:
1. Permission of the owner or someone the authorities believe is acting as
the owner's agent.
2. If the property is abandoned, looks abandoned, or looks like it should be
abandoned (the last applies to most trailer houses).

Remember, the 4th Amendment prohibits only "unreasonable" searches. You can
be searched at airports, points of entry, "stop and frisk" (Terry stops),
and so on. Further, there is no LAW against an unlawful search; the only
sanction is that anything found can't be used against you.


Did you actually read what I wrote ?

"when a home owner denies entry and refuses to grant permission for
the
government agents to enter private property" a code enforcement
officer,
building inspector, health inspector, firefighter or police officer
can not
FORCE their way into your home without an emergency situation
existing that effects the property in question... This is generally
allowable under either the "public safety" or "exigent circumstances"
exceptions to the search warrant requirement...

As far as police officers are concerned they do not need a warrant to
enter if they have probable cause a crime is being committed and that
evidence of said crime would be destroyed if they left to obtain a
warrant...
As soon as all occupants of the property have been secured, no further
searching is to be conducted until one of the officers explains the
probable cause to a judge or magistrate and authorization in the form
of a search warrant is granted...

Umm... I don't know where you are coming up with your information
but any official who needs to force entry to a premises (even if it is
abandoned or for some reason the owner can not be identified)
the public official MUST obtain a warrant to enter... Period...
No exceptions other than being given permission from an owner
or tenant whom has legal control and authority over the property
-- and the building department knows exactly who the owner
is... After all you need to obtain a certificate of occupancy after
an inspection after the property is finished being built or when it
changes ownership after a sale...

The 4th Amendment only applies to your rights when a criminal
offense is being considered... Not a civil violation of building
code...
Entirely different rules apply... The public official must ask the
homeowner for permission to enter, if it is refused then the official
must describe whatever violation they believe to exist to a judge
or magistrate and obtain a search warrant to enter which is
enforced and served upon the property owner by the police
to assist the inspector in gaining entry to carry out their duties...

~~ Evan

Oh, BS. If the neighbors report smoke, and the first truck sees smoke
coming out of the house, they WILL break the door open. Same if they
smell decomp and the neighbors complain, and nobody answers the door.
'Exigent circumstances' applies pretty much to ANY public health and
safety issue. If house is apparently abandoned, and they are searching
for a lost kid or hear screams, again, they WILL enter to look. What
they find may indeed get tossed from any followup criminal prosecution,
but under those circumstances, they won't really care.

Any evidence turned up in such an investigation probably won't get tossed,
either.