As criminal defense lawyers who work to protect the individual rights of citizens, one piece of prevailing wisdom that we simply disdain is the idea that “If you’ve got nothing to hide, then just let us perform a search.” Even if you aren’t trying to conceal anything illegal or incriminating, it can feel like a major invasion of your privacy to have someone else look through your property. Oftentimes this sentence backs an individual into a corner, especially if they have something that they’d rather not be discovered by law enforcement. Either they consent to a search that they’d rather not partake in, or they come off as guilty because they won’t allow a simple search.
The fact of the matter is that you need to remember that you are always within your rights to decline to give permission for police to conduct a warrantless search of your body or your possessions. Police may still have some authority in certain situations (like a backpack in a locker at a school that is flagged by a drug dog during a random search), but in the majority of instances involving adults, you should feel absolutely no shame in declining to give permission to allow a search of your belongings.
Remember, protection against unreasonable searches and seizures is a right guaranteed to every citizen by the constitution. Unreasonable, in this instance, means “without permission or a warrant.” Unless law enforcement has a valid warrant to take a blood sample, search your vehicle or ransack your house looking for evidence, you can simply state that you’d be happy to comply once they have obtained a search warrant. You should never feel bad for falling back on the rights that have been given to you by the constitution.
When Can You Deny A Search From Police?
Absent a warrant, police can only conduct legal searches of certain places with your permission. They either need your permission or a signed search warrant in order to:
- Obtain a blood, breath or urine sample (search your body)
- Search your vehicle
- Search your residence
- Search buildings on your property, like a garage or shed
- Search your possessions (like a backpack or purse)
We do want to note that some searches may be legal without a warrant or permission, but it’s rare. For example, if you are placed under arrest for DUI, police now have the ability to search your vehicle, as it is considered part of an active investigation in which you have been placed under arrest. Similarly, let’s say that police are serving an arrest warrant at your house, and during the course of your arrest, drug paraphernalia is seen in plain view. In this scenario, that drug paraphernalia may be collected and entered into evidence because it was visible in plain sight during the standard course of an investigation. Your lawyer will work to challenge this, but evidence that is in plain sight likely doesn’t need a warrant to be collected by police.
At the end of the day, remember that you have rights and you should never be bullied by police into forgoing the expression of those rights. Police know how to box people in, but if you don’t take the bait and remember that “I’ll consent to any searches after I see a warrant” is a perfectly acceptable response, you can protect your rights and your privacy.
For more information about searches and your rights, or for help with a criminal matter in Minnesota, reach out to Avery and the team at Appelman Law Firm today at (952) 224-2277.
