Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in California

I hope you made them break down the door. If they got the wrong house (the person they are looking for doesn't live with you), you can sue them. Watch out for legal time limits.

The Fourth Amendment states that a person shall not be subject to unreasonable warrantless searches. The way around that is that there be exigent circumstances, as in someone is flushing drugs down the toilet, or the person being searched gives voluntary consent.

So, if you let the Marshals in to your house and you consented to the search of your home, then they did not need a warrant. I encourage people to know their rights and use them at the first opportunity.

If confronted by officers, never:

1. Give consent to be searched

2. Give a statement to the police without an attorney if you are accused of a crime

3. Sign a waiver form when accused of a crime or requested for consent to be searched

If confronted by officers, always:

1. Require that the officers present you with the warrant and allow you to review it.

2. Always ask for your attorney when interrogated by a police officer