Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: home entry

Yes and no. It is not illegal for the police to lie. And if there is an arrest warrant, they may be able to arrest you, even if they have to trick you to do it.

However, if they did not have a search warrant for your home and they tried to circumvent that warrant requirement by their ruse, then it would appear that they have violated the 4th amendment's warrant requirement. (I find it insteresting that you entitled your posting "home entry," as whether there was entry will be a critical issue. The warrant requirement has specific guidleines for acting on the warrant, in addition to the requirement just to have one. One of those is the "knock-notice" requirement. It looks as if the police failed to give "notice," although this is not the central issue.)

I would need more facts to assess the legality of your particular situation. Was it Walnut Sheriff? I had a similar issue with them where they overstepped their authority. I would be [a little] surprised if they were continuing in the same fashion.

If you would like more information, feel free to contact me at (714)879-5770 or you can email me directly at [email protected]. I wish you the best of luck.

JACQUELINE GOODMAN RUBIO

Attorney at Law