Legal Question in Criminal Law in Pennsylvania

Re: without a search warrant

Generally, no. (Since your question doesn't give more information ... like why police entered the home, who they were searching for, etc., I have to qualify the answer with the "generally".)

As with most areas of the law, there are exceptions, all premises on a term called "exigencies". Some exigent circumstances to the requirement for police to get a search warrant that might allow police to search or seize property under circumstances where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy include:

1) "hot pursuit" of a fleeing felon -- meaning that police see a person they have probable cause to believe has committed a felony and who is fleeing from them enter the home, then police can follow them inside;

2) to prevent the imminent destruction of evidence (e.g., drugs potentially being flushed down the toilet),

3) to preclude a suspect's escape, and

4) where there is a risk of danger to police officers, or to others inside or outside a dwelling -- e.g., police respond to a 911 call about domestic violence in a home and a weapon is involved, and hear the sounds of a scuffle through the door, then police can enter the home without a warrant to render emergency aid.

But, if they enter under an exception, they can only stay there long enolugh to deal with the emergency. It does not give them carte blanche authority to snoop around, open every container, etc.

If your question is based on a real case, and someone was charged as a result of this incident, the defendant should have a criminal defense attorney review all the case facts (police reports, interview witnesses, review 911 and police radio traffic, etc.) to evaluate whether the police was not lawful, and then decide what the best action in court should be.