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WHEN ENCOUNTERING
LAW ENFORCEMENT
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
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This booklet addresses what rights you have when you are
stopped, questioned, arrested, or searched by law enforcement
officers. This booklet is for citizens and non-citizens with extra
information for non-citizens in a separate section. Another sec-
tion covers what can happen to you at airports and other points of
entry into the United States. The last section discusses concerns
you may have related to your charitable contributions and reli-
gious or political beliefs.
This booklet tells you about your basic rights. It is not a substitute
for legal advice. You should contact an attorney if you have been
arrested or believe that your rights have been violated.
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
III. SEARCHES AND WARRANTS
Q: Can law enforcement officers search my home or office?
A:
Law enforcement officers can search your home only if they
have a warrant or your consent. In your absence, the police can
search your home based on the consent of your roommate or a
guest if the police reasonably believe that person has the
authority to consent. Law enforcement officers can search your
office only if they have a warrant or the consent of the employ-
er. If your employer consents to a search of your office, law
enforcement officers can search your workspace whether you
consent or not.
Q: What are warrants and what should I make sure
they say?
A:
A warrant is a piece of paper signed by a judge giving law
enforcement officers permission to enter a home or other
building to do a search or make an arrest. A
search
warrant
allows law enforcement officers to enter the place described in
the warrant to look for and take items identified in the warrant.
An
arrest
warrant allows law enforcement officers to take you
into custody. An arrest warrant alone does not give law
enforcement officers the right to search your home (but they
can look in places where you might be hiding and they can take
evidence that is in plain sight), and a search warrant alone
does not give them the right to arrest you (but they can arrest
you if they find enough evidence to justify an arrest). A warrant
must contain the judge’s name, your name and address, the
date, place to be searched, a description of any items being
searched for, and the name of the agency that is conducting
the search or arrest. An arrest warrant that does not have your
name on it may still be validly used for your arrest if it
describes you with enough detail to identify you, and a search
warrant that does not have your name on it may still be valid if
it gives the correct address and description of the place the
officers will be searching. However, the fact that a piece of
paper says “warrant” on it does not always mean that it is an
arrest or search warrant. A
warrant of deportation/removal
,
for example, is a kind of
administrative
warrant and does not
grant the same authority to enter a home or other building to
do a search or make an arrest.
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
Q: What should I do if officers come to my house?
A:
If law enforcement officers knock on your door, instead of open-
ing the door, ask through the door if they have a warrant. If the
answer is no, do not let them into your home and do not answer any
questions or say anything other than “I do not want to talk to you.” If
the officers say that they do have a warrant, ask the officers to slip
it under the door (or show it to you through a peephole, a window in
your door, or a door that is open only enough to see the warrant). If
you feel you must open the door, then step outside, close the door
behind you and ask to see the warrant. Make sure the search war-
rant contains everything noted above, and tell the officers if they are
at the wrong address or if you see some other mistake in the war-
rant. (And remember that an immigration “warrant of
removal/deportation” does not give the officer the authority to enter
your home.) If you tell the officers that the warrant is not complete
or not accurate, you should say you do not consent to the search,
but you should not interfere if the officers decide to do the search
even after you have told them they are mistaken. Call your lawyer
as soon as possible. Ask if you are allowed to watch the search; if
you are allowed to, you should. Take notes, including names, badge
numbers, which agency each officer is from, where they searched
and what they took. If others are present, have them act as witness-
es to watch carefully what is happening.
Q: Do I have to answer questions if law enforcement officers
have a search or arrest warrant?
A: No. Neither a search nor arrest warrant means you have to
answer questions.
Q: What if law enforcement officers do not have a search war-
rant?
A:
You do not have to let law enforcement officers search your
home, and you do not have to answer their questions. Law enforce-
ment officers cannot get a warrant based on your refusal, nor can
they punish you for refusing to give consent.
Q: What if law enforcement officers tell me they will come
back with a sear
ch warrant if I do not let them in?
A:
You can still tell them that you do not consent to the search and
that the
y need t
o get a warr
ant. The officers may or may not suc-
c
eed in getting a warr
ant if they follow through and ask the court
f
or one, but onc
e you give your consent, they do not need to try to
get the c
ourt’s permission to do the search.
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
Q: What if law enforcement officers do not have a search
warrant, but they insist on searching my home even
after I object?
A:
You should not interfere with the search in any way because
you could get arrested. But you should say clearly that you
have not given your consent and that the search is against your
wishes. If someone is there with you, ask him or her to witness
that you are not giving permission for the search. Call your
lawyer as soon as possible. Take note of the names and badge
numbers of the searching officers.
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
REFERRAL CONTACT INFORMATION
A
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(202) 244-2990
http://www.adc.org/
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(202) 742-5600
http://www.ailf.org/
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(800) 954-0254
http://www.aila.org/
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(212) 966-5932
https://www.aaldef.org/
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(202) 488-8787
http://www.cair.com/
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(213) 629-2512
http://www.maldef.org/
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(212) 679-5100
http://www.nlg.org/
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http://www.nilc.org/
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http://www.naacpldf.org/
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(617) 227-9727
http://www.nationalimmigrationproject.org/
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THE AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION is the nation’s
premier guardian of liberty, working daily in courts,
legislatures and communities to defend and preserve
the individual rights and freedoms guaranteed by the
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