Illegal Searches

For years, police officers used the smell of marijuana, whether it was present or not, to justify a search. Now with the legalization of hemp, they have to resort to different tactics. Frequently I am asked if the search conducted by police was legal. This is important because generally if the search was illegal, the evidence found cannot be used against you in court. Cases are won and lost on the search. The team at Byars Law knows how to find search issues and use them to your advantage in defending your rights.

Police can search your person, vehicle and home under the right circumstances. The best practice is for them to get a search warrant, but they do not always do that.

Police cannot force their way into your home for no reason at all without a search warrant unless they have visible evidence of illegal activity that they can see. If they force their way into your home, the evidence they find could be rendered useless.

In almost all criminal cases there was some type of search conducted by law enforcement. The key is were those searches conducted lawfully and under appropriate circumstances. If they were not, the evidence can be thrown out. It is pivotal for your to contact a defense attorney to discuss if the circumstances surrounding the search of your person, vehicle or home were appropriate and lawful.