In the legal system, the idea that your home is your castle generally means that it is your space, and you can expect both safety and privacy while in your home. This applies to the government and police officers, along with other authorities. They cannot violate your privacy.
If the police want to search your home or seize any items that you have, they cannot simply come in and do it. This is something so ingrained in our legal system that people often find it hard to wrap their heads around the idea that it wouldn’t be true.
Police must typically get a warrant, follow proper procedures, and adhere to the legal standards. Doing anything else often means that the evidence has been taken illegally, your rights have been violated and evidence obtained can’t be used in court.
That being said, there are exceptions to almost every rule, and this one is no different. In rare cases, police can enter to get evidence before they get a warrant. They’ll have to prove that it was justified after the fact.
One of the most common ways that they use this exception is by claiming that the evidence was at risk of being destroyed. It takes time to get a warrant, and they may fear that evidence they believe to be in your home at the moment will be completely destroyed by the time they return.
Do you think that the police violated your rights while searching for evidence? If you have questions about your rights or whether or not evidence is permitted in court, our website has a lot of useful information.