Legal Question in Criminal Law in Georgia

My estanged husband was spending time with our daughter at my house(he no longer lives there nor is on deed or title) while I went to work. The sheriff dept banged on the door to annouce that they had a warrent for probation violation and when he didnt open the door, they proceeded to kick in the door and go room to room until locating him with my daughter in the garage. Was that unlawful entry/search considering that they did not have the homeowner's consent to entry? I was told that they could only do that with a "no-knock" warrent

Thank you for any information you can give me on this


Asked on 2/03/11, 3:38 am

2 Answers from Attorneys

Phillip M. Cook Cook Legal Services, LLC

The police cannot just kick in your door without a warrant for YOUR arrest. However, if the police made an honest mistake, or the police thought that your daughter was imminent bodily harm, a judge will likely let it slide. Hire a lawyer to review the details of your case and determine whether there is enough informational to move forward. At the very least, the police owe you a new door.

Best of luck.******The above is for informational purposes only and does not create an attorney-client privilege.********

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Answered on 2/03/11, 5:23 am
Scott Riddle Law Office of Scott B. Riddle, LLC

You need to speak to a lawyer who primarily handles criminal law cases, who will know the answer. It is not true at all that the police, with an arrest warrant, are always barred from gaining access to make the arrest merely because it is someone else's property. If that was the case, criminals could just stay with friends and laugh through the window. Not reality. A search of your house, after gaining access, is a different issue. Ask a qualified lawyer before doing anything based on advice from a website (which could be wrong). There are other facts and details that will be relevant and the lawyer will ask.

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Answered on 2/05/11, 6:23 am


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