View this video here.
[GRAPHIC: Paul D. Cramm Do I Need To Let The Police Conduct A Search?]
PAUL CRAMM: Frequently at the conclusion of an ordinary traffic stop, police officers will ask the driver for permission to search the vehicle. Other times officers may arrive at an apartment in response to a simple noise complaint, but before leaving they ask the resident for permission to step inside and have a look around. In far too many cases people will give police permission to search their residence, their car or even their pockets or purse.
Clients will often tell me that they had no idea they were allowed to simply decline a request to search by law enforcement. The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees to each of us the right to be free from unlawful search and seizure by law enforcement. In the absence of a search warrant, officers must have valid probable cause to search any given area or location.
Perhaps the most common exception to the probable cause requirement is consent. If a person gives a police officer permission to conduct a search then no probable cause is necessary and the officer may be proceeding on a pure hunch.
However, if a person politely but firmly declines an officer's request for consent to search, the officer must be able to articulate valid probable cause. This ensures the greatest opportunity for defense counsel to enter legal objections to the admissibility of any items of evidence that may be discovered. Many of these otherwise valid legal objections are simply waived or lost in the situations where a person knowingly consents to a police officer's request for permission to search.
If you've been contacted by police for any reason and they are asking for your permission or consent to conduct a search that request alone is a relatively good indicator that the officer may very well lack independent probable cause to support his search.
Do yourself and your lawyer a favor, politely but firmly decline any request by law enforcement for permission or consent. Then his search must be premised upon valid probable cause and your lawyer will have the greatest opportunity to argue against the admissibility of any evidence that the officer may have unlawfully discovered.
[GRAPHIC: Paul D. Cramm Attorney at Law 100 East Park Suite 210 Olathe, KS 66061 Cell (913) 645-5925 Office (913) 322-3265 Fax (913) 322-4371 kansascity-criminal-attorney.com]
