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If An Officer Wants to Search My Car, My Home, or My Person, Do I Have a Choice?

Peter Odom: If the police officer has a search warrant for your car, your home, or to be able to search you personally, then no.  A warrant grants them the authority to be able to conduct that search with certain limitations. But, if the police don’t have warrant to be able to conduct a search, then that search is presumed to be illegal with only a few exceptions.  In the event the police ask you if they can search your car during a traffic stop, or show up at your front door and ask to search your house or apartment, you are never required to consent to the search. The police may go ahead and conduct the search anyway, but a calm and polite “No, you don’t have my permission to search” will give your lawyer the opportunity to challenge the legality of the search at a later date.  Don’t be tricked into thinking that your cooperation will grant you leniency with the police.  Consenting to a warrant-less search could get you arrested and eliminates most challenges to any evidence the police uncover as part of the search

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