You may be a very welcoming person, but at the same time, you might be hesitant to open the door and talk to police about matters on your property. Even if you have nothing to hide, you may not want to converse with police at your residence or have them on your property for an extended period while a matter is being resolved. What will the neighbors think!
In all seriousness, do you have to oblige when police come onto your property, or can you politely tell them to get lost? We take a closer look at when police are allowed on your property in Minnesota in today’s blog.
Can Police Come On Your Property In Minnesota?
Before we dive into the question at the heart of this blog, know that we are talking about entering onto your property, not entering your home or your vehicle for the purposes of a search. As we’ve talked about on the blog in the past, there are only a few specific scenarios where police are legally allowed to enter your vehicle or home as it pertains to a criminal matter, and those situations are essentially:
- If they have permission from the owner
- If they have a warrant
- If evidence is in plain sight
- If an emergency situations exists
- After a driver has been placed under arrest
But let’s back up a little bit and talk about entering your property as a whole. Can police pull into your driveway and come up to your door and force you to have a conversation?
When it comes to entering your general property area, police and other members of the public are operating under an implied license to come to your residence. Essentially, a person with a good standing reason to approach a property or knock on a door at a reasonable hour is allowed to do so. Trick or Treaters can come and go on Halloween. A contractor performing work in the neighborhood may canvass for other job opportunities. Girls Scouts may swing by to sell some cookies. A volunteer may stop by with some information about the upcoming election. You can politely or firmly tell all these parties that you are not interested in their business, but they have an implied right to knock on your door without being considered in violation of any law.
The same holds true for police. If they are showing up for a reasonable purpose at a normal time of day, there presence isn’t a violation of any law. They can even show up at unreasonable hours, so long as the reason for the visit warrants it. For example, police may show up past midnight if your child was implicated in a hit and run accident that occurred an hour ago. Basically, if police have a good reason to be at your property, they are allowed to be there.
Now, you have plenty of rights too in these situations. You don’t need to open the door, you can refuse to talk or let them enter your home, or you can tell them to leave your property. Police can’t force their way inside and demand you comply (unless they have a valid search warrant). They are typically allowed on your property with a valid reason for the visit, and you are typically allowed to ignore their presence or tell them to be on their way because you’re not answering any questions. Their presence is allowed, but your participation in any conversation is not required either.
So yes, police and other visitors can come up to your door if they have a valid reason and are visiting at a normal time for visitors to approach, and they aren’t in violation of any law. You still have all the normal 4th Amendment protections that would apply in these situations, and we recommend you invoke them at the first sign that it may be necessary. Then, get on the phone and call Avery and the team at Appelman Law Firm. We’ll provide some individualized advice and help guide you through the next steps in whatever you’re facing. For more information, give our team a call today at (952) 224-2277.
