The Fourth Amendment generally protects people from inappropriate searches of their property, as well as questionable seizures of their assets. Police officers can conduct searches when they have warrants or permission from individuals.
They can also conduct searches when they have probable cause to suspect that a crime occurred. In some cases, officers may attempt to search private property because they have followed someone from the scene of a crime elsewhere and believe that they are present at the property currently.
Police officers following a suspect may force entry into a yard or a residence while attempting to apprehend that individual. People refer to it as a hot pursuit when police officers follow a suspect from one location to another place as they attempt to flee.
Can a hot pursuit justify police officers accessing private property without the permission of its residents or owners?
The courts have limited hot pursuit searches
The federal Supreme Court frequently has to rule on cases that way the needs of law enforcement professionals against the rights of citizens. The courts have had to hear cases in which individuals have ended up facing criminal charges because police officers followed someone else to their property and conducted a search.
What the courts found in such cases is that the initial crime must justify the level of force utilized by the police. If police officers are in pursuit of someone accused of a violent crime or a felony, then forcing entry onto private property to apprehend them might be a reasonable decision. The severity of their offense combined with the threat that they pose to the public make the search reasonable.
If the offense is a minor misdemeanor crime, then it may not warrant officers following a suspect onto private property and conducting a search there without the consent of the occupants or residents. Those facing criminal charges after a warrantless search may need help evaluating the situation to determine if a violation of their rights occurred.
People facing drug charges and other crimes based on a warrantless search may need help asserting themselves in criminal court. Developing a reasonable criminal strategy requires an understanding of the law and the rules that limit the conduct of police officers.
