If a police officer comes to your home to interview you, he or she may ask to enter and conduct a search.

Legally, you have the right to say no unless the officer has a search warrant or has reason to believe that you are harboring a suspect they are immediately pursuing. You can and should exercise this right, even if you feel that you have nothing to hide.

You have this right because law enforcement officers may only search your person or property if there is reasonable suspicion that you have committed a crime, or if they have obtained a search warrant from a judge. These are a part of your Fourth Amendment Rights.

However, the Fourth Amendment does have limitations.

For example, under some circumstances you can be searched while using transit systems funded by US tax dollars. However, the circumstances of the search become very important here. In some situations, it may still be possible to use the Fourth Amendment as a defense strategy for anything found on your person in such a search.

Below, we’re going to discuss the circumstances under which a police officer is allowed to search you on public transit in Illinois – and when you have the right to refuse a search.

When Is a Search on Chicago Public Transportation Lawful?

Officers have the right to search you when they have probable cause to suspect you of a crime. Most commonly, search and seizures are related to drug crimes, so we’ll cover specific examples pertaining drug crimes here.

Probable cause for a drug search on public transportation includes, but is not limited to:

• Drugs or drug paraphernalia in plain sight
• Strong odor of drugs (for example, marijuana)
• Disruptive behavior that suggests you may be intoxicated

What about drug dogs?

You have probably noticed drug-sniffing dogs in Chicago airports and public transit stations. Drug dogs can be routinely brought into these locations, even if officers do not suspect a specific person of a drug crime.

Should the drug dog alert to your person, this would be considered probable cause for a search. In this context, anything illegal found on your person can be used as evidence for a drug crime or other offense.

However, once a train or bus is in motion, it cannot be stopped by officers with drug-sniffing dogs. Delaying any vehicle on unreasonable suspicion violates the Fourth Amendment. If you are caught after the vehicle is in motion, it may be possible to throw out any evidence resulting from what would be an unlawful search and seizure.

How Search and Seizure Laws Can Impact Your Chicago Drug Charge

If the evidence against you for a drug crime or other offense was obtained using an unlawful search and seizure, it is not admissible as evidence in court.

In the case of drug crimes, the substance in question is generally the primary evidence used to prosecute and sentence the offense. If you can prove that the drugs were obtained as the result of an illegal search and seizure, your case will likely be thrown out.

It’s also important to note that private security personnel have more rights than law enforcement to conduct a search and seizure. For example, a mall cop is allowed to search your purse for stolen items as you leave a store, even if there is no probable cause. Further, if security personnel uncover evidence of a criminal offense, they are able to turn this evidence over to police and it will be admissible in a court of law.

The most important bullet points here are:

• You can only be searched by a police officer on public transit if there is probable cause to suspect you of a crime.
• Any evidence obtained in an unlawful search cannot be used against you.

However, determining whether a search was unlawful is often nuanced, and requires the help of a knowledgeable legal professional. This is where a skilled Chicago criminal defense attorney comes into play.

About the Author:

Andrew M. Weisberg is a former felony prosecutor who now serves as a defense attorney in the greater Chicago area. He has extensive experience in handling all types of criminal cases, from sex offenses and domestic violence to retail theft-related crimes, murder, and drug crimes.

In any major U.S. city, a determined police officer can be an intimidating sight. If a cop shows up at your door, it’s only natural to feel like you have to let him or her inside—after all, it’s a police officer. Maybe they make you feel safe, or maybe they just shock you into agreeing. Whatever your initial reaction, there is one critical thing that you must remember if a police officer shows up at your door: your constitutional rights.

While there are exceptions to this rule (we’ll get to those in a second), for the most part, it is illegal for a police officer to enter your home without a search warrant.

Know Your Rights

The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution protects you from “unlawful search and seizure.” In this case, that means a police officer cannot enter your home without a warrant.

This rule extends universally. Whether or not cops themselves abide by it is sometimes a different story, but if you do not consent to cops’ entry and they come into your house anyway, they are breaking the law.

The only times a police officer can enter your home without a warrant are:

1. If you consent; or
2. If they are in “hot pursuit” and are actively following a suspect that is directly in your home

Unless either of the above two points apply, if a police officer shows up at your doorstep without a warrant, you are not obligated to allow them entry. And don’t worry—by refusing entry, you will not be resisting arrest or impeding an investigation, you will merely be exercising your rights.

What is a Warrant?

In order for police officers to legally enter a person’s home, it is usually necessary that they first obtain a warrant from the court. Typically, there are two types of warrants:

• An arrest warrant will grant permission to the police officers to arrest the person named in the arrest. It will also grant permission for officers to search that person as well as his or her immediate surrounding area.
• A search warrant will grant permission to police officers to search whatever area is identified in the warrant. This can include entire homes, yards, and additional spaces.

In order to obtain a warrant, a police officer must demonstrate to a judge that he or she has reason to believe that a crime has occurred or that evidence linked to a crime will be found on your property. A judge or magistrate must approve this application for a warrant.

Police officers may try to enter your home for a number of reasons—they may suspect that they’ll find evidence to link you to a serious crime, they may be following up on a tip that there are drugs or illegal weapons in your home, or they may just be suspicious of you. But without either a warrant or your consent (or in the unlikely event of a police emergency that happens to be taking place in your backyard), police officers are not allowed to enter your home.

Do Not Be A Victim of Unlawful Search and Seizure

Still, just because it is illegal for cops to enter your home without a warrant doesn’t mean that they never do it. But if you know—and exercise—your rights, you may be able to fight back against whatever charges result from that unlawful entry.

If you’re facing a charge that came about as a result of illegal search and seizure, do not allow yourself to be victimized by police officers who broke the law. Fight back by calling our law offices today.

About the Author:

Andrew M. Weisberg is a former felony prosecutor who now serves as a defense attorney in the greater Chicago area. He has extensive experience in handling all types of criminal cases, from sex offenses and domestic violence to retail theft-related crimes, Murder, and drug crimes.