Police searches and seizures

Police searches and seizures

Having an arrest warrant does not give the police officers the freedom to search the house of the suspect without his consent. They must first obtain a search warrant so that they can be in a position to enter the home of the suspect to determine if the stolen firearms are there. The information the officers have about the possibility of the guns in the house is not enough to enable them to obtain a search warrant. Thus, they cannot seize the house of the suspect without his consent. The officers can only search the house without a warrant just in the case of a valid consent that the firearms are in the house. For the officers to obtain evidence about the presence of the stolen guns in the house, they can only do it in plain view. This implies that they should be in a position to locate the firearms when in an area where they are lawfully supposed to be.

Although the fourth amendment protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures, it does not include open fields and plain view.  After arresting the suspect, the officers can search the guns found in plain view. First, they do not have to obtain a warrant to search and seize the fire harms because nobody can claim privacy in case of Plain view. If a property can be located by the police when in areas where they are supposed to be, no privacy is attached to such property. As a result, the officers have the freedom to seize the guns found in the plain view.  In such a case, the arrested suspect cannot have the ground to claim breach of privacy rights by the police officers. When the officers see the fire harms in plains view when in a place they are supposed to be, it does not mean that they have conducted a   search and the rights of the suspect according to the fourth amendment have not been infringed.

When the officers see the fire harms from plains view, they have a right to seize the evidence from the location. First, for the case of the suspect gun theft, the evidence is directly connected to the crime. The suspect stole firearms four months ago. There is a high possibility that the guns spotted by the officers in the plain view are the ones which were stolen by the suspect. Additionally, the officers had been informed by an informant that the firearms are still in the house of the suspect. As a result, there is a direct connection between the guns spotted and the crime being investigated. As a result, the officers are lawfully allowed to access the plain view and seize the evidence, to be used in the apprehension of the suspect.

The officers do not need to obtain consent from the suspect to seize the evidence obtained in plains view. They have a reasonable reason to link the spotted guns with criminal activity. As a result, they are lawfully allowed to enter the house and seize the object according to the nexus rule. The suspect was arrested for stealing firearms four months ago. As a result, there is a reasonable proof that the guns observed by the officers in plain view are related to the suspected crime; hence the officers can get into the premises without the consent of the suspect to seize them. Thus, the detectives have probable reason to seize the guns observed in plain view after arresting the suspect.

 

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