if the sherrifs come to your house and arrest your spouse for theft of scrap fence, is it legal for them to?

Question

come inside your residence & look through your kitchen cabnits? and if they find some drug parphaneila, can they legally charge or arrest the other spouse at a later date? even if the other spouse wasnt home when they came & was not aware of what her spouse was up to?

Answer 1

I think they need a warrant for the article or articles they are looking for.

Answer 2

It depends on the nature of the warrant, and what it specifies.

If the warrant is for arrest of scrap fence, then the police can only search for evidence of that crime. They can open any container or cabinet where that type of item could reasonably be concealed. So, unless your kitchen cabinets are large enough to hold fences -- that's beyond the scope of the search.

They can act based on drug paraphernalia that is in plain view, and they can look for it in cabinets because a cabinet could reasonably hold those items.

There are other exceptions, such as if someone in the house made a move to reach for the cabinets -- since that creates a potential threat (hidden weapons) and the police can react to that.

And the spouse being home doesn't matter -- because both have shared access to the house, the police can search any area (subject to above) that the arrested spouse has access to.

Answer 3

This is an unbelievably complex question. They would need a warrant to arrest your spouse to come in. From that point, they would generally need a warrant to search your house.

However, there are exceptions to the warrant requirements. For example, the sheriff can search the immediate area to secure it. In other words, they can do what is necessary to prevent your spouse from getting a weapon. They police can investigate visable signs of contraband.

There is probably more Supreme Court case law on searchs than on anything else. Without an extremely detailed description of what the Sherrif did, you cannot get a reliable answer.

Answer 4

AN ARREST WARRANT GIVE THE POLICE THE RIGHT TO LOOK FOR THE PERSON AT THE ADDRESS ON THE WARRANT. THEY CAN LOOK ANYWHERE A PERSON CAN HIDE THEY ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO LOOK IN THE DRAWS OR ANY PLACE THAT A PERSON CANNOT PHYSICALLY HIDE UNLESS DISCLOSED IN THE WARRANT. THEY SHOULD HAVE LEFT A COPY OF THE WARRANT.
THE PRISONS ARE FULL OF DRUG DEALERS WIVES THAT DID NOT ACTUALLY DO ANY OF THE DRUG DEALING BUT HAD FULL KNOWLEDGE OF THEIR HUSBANDS ILLICIT ACTIVITIES. BEING UNAWARE IS NOT AN EXCUSE.
THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION IS YES THEY CAN ARREST ANYBODY THEY WANT THEY JUST HAVE TO MAKE THE CHARGES STICK IN COURT THAT'S WHERE A GOOD ATTORNEY COMES INTO THE PICTURE.
THIS LEGAL SYSTEM CLAIMS THAT YOU ARE INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY BUT THE LAW MAKES YOU GUILTY UNTIL YOU PROVE THAT YOU ARE INNOCENT.

Answer 5

you need to have a lawyer look at the application the for the arrest warrant it in most cases does not give them the right to search ..if in the event of serving the arrest warrant they smelled weed or notice some on a counter...they can and will charge you with that.. spouse not knowing what's in the kitchen cabinets? unlikely!

Answer 6

my understanding is that anyone of the homeowners/renters can allow a search of the premises and anything turned up could be admissible in court. however, if one spouse does not have the legal right to permit the search anything found could be deemed "poisoned fruit". of course this is with a valid search warrant and within the scope of the warrant. and yes, kitchen cabinets are generally covered under the warrant.

Answer 7

They cannot legally search the premises without a search warrant. And they cannot arrest anyone that was not present or involved in the situation. You can't go to jail for a crime a spouse committed.

Answer 8

Not if they don't have a warrant.