Legal Question in Criminal Law in Texas

Can a person be arrested in a house without a warrant?

My boyfriend had an outstanding warrant in another county, and was staying with his aunt. But the other day the police came in the house without a search warrant and arrested him because there were drugs in the room and they were not even on him. They charged him with possession and a failure to identify. This is my question for you so can they charge him with the possession or the failure to identify if they did not have a search warrant.


Asked on 2/13/06, 4:56 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Mark Pantano The Law Office of Mark Pantano

Re: Can a person be arrested in a house without a warrant?

Unfortunately, I cannot give you an answer to this question without more information. This is a complicated area of the law and I would need to know all the facts before I could make a determination as to whether the police acted legally. To asnwer the question broadly, I will say that yes, the police can sometimes arrest a person and charge him with possession even without a warrant. That does not mean that they acted legally in this specific case. If I were representing your boyfriend, I would need to find out all the information before advising him about the case. This would include reading police reports, reviewing court documents and intervewing witnesses. There certainly could be grounds to challenge the legality of the search and arrest. Good luck, and let me know if I can be of any help.

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Answered on 2/13/06, 5:42 pm


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