Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

the police dept came to my house to do what they callED A PAROLE SWEEP. THEY THOUGHT I AND MY HUSBAND WERE BOTH ON PAROLE BUT ACTUALLY ONLY MY HUSBAND IS. THEY TOOK BOTH OF US TO JAIL FOR ID THEFT. THEY TOOK MISC PAPERWORK AND MY LAPTOP COMPUTER BUT DID NOT LEAVE A PROP RECIEPT. MY FATHER SIGNED ONE BUT THEY FORGOT TO LEAVE IT.THEY ONLY SEARCHED THE BEDROOM. WE WERE BOOKED AND CHARGED WITH 2 COUNTS EACH OF IDENTITY THEFT. THE CHARGES WERE DROPPED PENDING FURTHER INVESTIGATION AND I WAS RELEASED 2 DAYS LATER, BUT MY HUSBAND IS STILL N CUSTODY WITH A PAROLE HOLD. MY RELEASE PAPERS STATED I WAS ONLY DETAINED AND NOT ARRESTED. WAS WHAT THEY DID LEGAL? CAN THEY KEEP MY LAPTOP? AND IS THIS GROUNDS FOR A PAROLE VIOLATION EVEN THOUGH NO PAROLE AGENTS WERE THERE ONLY CITY POLICE OFFICERS AND A DETECTIVE? DO YOU THINK THIS WAS IN FACT A PAROLE SWEEP?


Asked on 9/22/09, 7:30 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Robert Marshall Law Office of Robert L, Marshall

If your husband is on parole, his residence can be searched without a warrant any time of the day or night. A parole agent does not need to be present.

During a parole search, the cops can search your husband's bedroom and any common areas that are accessible to all occupants of the home. Since he is on parole, a search of your shared bedroom would be legal.

If your laptop is being held as evidence, you might be able to get it back by having the District Attorney's office copy the contents of the hard drive. Your husband's attorney would be the best one to address this issue; I would strongly advise you not to risk dealing with the DA over a laptop when you could still be facing felony charges. In fact, the DA is probably examining the hard drive right now to see if there is any evidence of ID theft to be used against you.

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Answered on 9/25/09, 10:16 pm


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