In a recent drugs and marijuana case near Jacksonville, Florida, the police received a tip of illegal drug activity at a particular apartment. They conducted surveillance on the apartment and observed what they considered to be suspicious activity. They ultimately obtained a search warrant to search the apartment for drugs.…
In Florida, a person has a Constitutional right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. Sometimes this is obvious. A police officer cannot just search a person’s home or car without consent or a search warrant in most cases. However, it can also get complicated as old rules may…
The Constitution establishes privacy rights, and one of the more sacred privacy rights protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures when it comes to their property. For instance, in most cases, the police are not allowed to go into a person’s residence without a valid search warrant or consent from…
In a recent armed robbery case west of Jacksonville, Florida, three suspects entered the victim’s home and stole certain items from him at gunpoint. The three suspects fled in a vehicle, and the victim called the police providing a description of the suspects and the vehicle. Shortly thereafter, a police…
In Florida, the police are not allowed to stop a vehicle without probable cause to believe the person committed a traffic violation or at least reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. Most stops are easily justified by the police with testimony that the driver was speeding, ran a red light or…
In Florida, the police are not permitted to search a person’s belongings unless the police officer has consent to search from someone authorized to provide such consent, the officer has probable cause in certain circumstances or the officer has a search warrant. Police officers often assume they can search a…
In Florida, the police do have the right to approach people and suspects on the street and ask questions. The police do not need reasonable suspicion or probable cause that a person is engaged in criminal activity to approach someone and ask questions. This includes asking for identification like a…
In Florida, it is a general practice among police officers to search a person after that person has been lawfully arrested. While most searches require consent of the person being searched or a valid search warrant, one exception is the search incident to a lawful arrest. At a minimum, this…
If the police want to search a house for drugs or other evidence of criminal activity, there are two primary ways they can do that. One, depending on how the the property is situated, the police can usually walk up to the front door, knock and ask to search the…
The Constitution protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures in Florida. What constitutes a search and/or seizure is not always obvious. For instance, if the police pull you over while driving, that is clearly a seizure under the law. If the police start searching your vehicle after the stop, that…