questions & answers

Question: I rent a Room from that person who is on the lease when the police crossed my threshold into my Room did they require a search warrant the same as they would in my home And since they had no search warrant is anything they found admissible as evidence in a court of law

Answer: Generally, the Fourth Amendment requires that the police need a court-issued search warrant in order to search a house. However, a warrant is not needed if the owner or renter of the home gives consent (permission) for the officers to enter and search. The question of whether the owner/lessor can give consent for a search of a room that is rented to another individual depends on a number of facts. Things like whether the room was locked, whether the person who rents the room is the only person who has access to it, whether things belonging to the homeowner are stored in there, etc. Whether the facts of your case would require the evidence to be precluded from use in court is something you should discuss with your attorney, and ultimately is a question for the judge in your case. S/he is the only one who can make the determination.