Legal Question in Criminal Law in Pennsylvania

Search warrant executed...sought another warrant was served

If law enforcement has been allowed to enter your home to execute an arrest warrant and , they locate person of interest...(once inside) they see/and or told where there are other illegal items in that room.....is it the right of the homeowner to ask them to step outside until they come back with another warrant to search entire premises? I also would like to know if they have the right to limit the search to the room which it was found/viewed in or the entire household? I ask this because the original arrest warrant was for 1 indiv. However, because this home is known for illegal activity they immediately went for a second warrant( for the another persons room.) after seeing the items in original suspects room.


Asked on 2/28/09, 11:56 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jay Hochberg

Re: Search warrant executed...sought another warrant was served

If the police are executing a valid warrant and they see contraband in plain view, they may seize it. Depending on the nature of the contraband, they may then also get a warrant to search the whole house.

But, if the police have an arrest warrant, they may not search the house for any purpose other than locating the individual. For example, they can't search a dresser drawer or a safe, because there's no way a person could be hiding there. Such a search is outside the authority of the warrant.

Search and seizure issues are heavily fact-dependent, so this answer is a general statement of the law. To offer you a legal opinion on your particular circumstances, I would have to see the warrant and the full police report. I hope this answer helps you, and good luck.

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Answered on 3/01/09, 12:33 pm


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