If a roomate is on probation, what are the laws of searching the house? What can they search?
She got charged with a DUI and than a week later, a fender bender. She goes to court tomorrow, and I and another guy are the roomates!! What are the LAWS concerning the search of the house and what rooms? ...
She got charged with a DUI and than a week later, a fender bender. She goes to court tomorrow, and I and another guy are the roomates!! What are the LAWS concerning the search of the house and what rooms?
Mikeysco nailed it…and most other responders to this question missed it badly…
Our probationers sign a waiver of their 4th Amendment rights, and any area in the residence that the probationer has access to is fair game… I generally do a quick scan of the place, check the common places to find alcohol, talk to the probationer for a little bit, and then leave… But if I have reasonable suspicion–anything that would make a reasonable person believe there is a violation taking place–such as a beer can sitting out, the smell of marijuana in the air, a box of shells on the countertop, etc., then I do a full-blown search…
they can search the whole house! That’s her place of residence
ALL ROOMS AND EVERYTHING IN THAT HOME IS SEARCH-ABLE. They can do what they want even if it’s your stuff. WAKE-UP the laws suck…or move or kick em out.
Ask the p.o. what the conditions are before ya freak out. There are ways of getting around this.
If there is a search warrant for your friend, I think they can search every part of the place where she lives. And with the Patriot Act, they do not even need a search warrant anymore. Yikes!
Search Me?
You should check with your state (or a lawyer) to learn IF your roommate being on probation would automatically allow law enforcement to search the home. Because, I think they’d still have to have a search warrant to search the home. But, if they do have a search warrant, they can search any room in the house.
If a Law Enforcement Agency shows up at your residence with a search warrant, you can’t stop them from entering. The search warrant will say what they are looking for, but if they find something else illegal while searching, you will be busted for that also.
Your roommate signed away her rights when she signed her conditions of probation. Since you are living in her place of residence, it can affect you as well. There are some gray areas here but basically the whole house can be searched. My advice: find a new roommate.
If she was charged with a DUI, why is anyone searching the residence? A probation officer, in the state of Arizona, can enter the residence to do a field visit and confirm that the one on probation resides there but does not "search" the residence, just confirms residency.
Just because someone is on probation does not necessarily mean that a condition of probation is what’s sometimes known as a "4th waiver"…meaning that the person and/or their property can be searched without a warrant.
That said, a person who is on probation and who agreed to waive their 4th amendment protections against warrantless searches is often subject to a search of their person, their vehicle, their residence and property. And while it may depend on the laws of your state (though doubtful), this means that property under the control of the person on probation is searchable. If you room with a searchable probationer, but you lock your bedroom door and the probationer does not have access to the room, your room would not ordinarily be subject to search. Your vehicle parked in the driveway, absent some indication that the probationer accesses it, would not be subject to search. Your various toiletries in the common bathroom would be subject to search and things you might have in the kitchen cabinet would certainly be searched.
If the probationer has access to the area/property in question, it is probably subject to search.
First why would the be searching the house and for what. For a DUI and fender bender there would be no reason to search.
As for the 4th admendment, they can only look where they think what they would be looking for would be.
Example: They can not look in a dishwasher if they were looking for an elephant because an elephant would not fit in there.
they can only search his things like his room, everywhere but your room and personal effects