[fjt226]

Originally Posted by gvervoren

Here is a question that was brought up at work today. A co-worker of mine got busted for underage drinking at a party. He said the officer busted a couple of people outside and then went into the house without permission. He is wondering if the cop could go into the house like that or does he need someone to open the door for him or otherwise have a search warrant?

As a fellow law enforcement officer I read both the question and the answers provided by my badge carrying buddies with interest. My buddies did a great job of answering your question. The only thing I would like to add, when it comes to search and seizure questions is for you to realize that officers, in most departments, receive yearly training and re-training on the legal issue of search and seizure. Scholars have written tons of books on the subject. The US Supreme Court regularly rules on these questions. But no matter how good the cop is, no matter how much he knows, and no matter how hard the cop tries to do the right thing, the end result of whether he was right or wrong is decided by the court, not the cop. We can be right today and wrong tomorrow for the exact same decision for the exact same circumstance. So next time you see something like you saw, or heard about, please remember that the vast majority of us are just trying to do the job the best we can. My hat is off to my fellow officers.