Legal Question in Constitutional Law in Texas

Re: Police entry into a private home

Entry into property to effectuate an arrest warrant.

Both State and Federal law allow entry onto property for purposes of making an arrest pursuant to a search warrant. In fact, the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure allows for forced entry into a house for purposes of making an arrest, if the officer is refused admittance after giving notice of authority and purpose.

However, the United States Supreme Court has held that all searches and seizures must be �reasonable� and in determining the reasonableness of entry into a dwelling may depend on various factors including; officers knocking and announcing their presence, and method of entry into dwelling.

In your case in particular, a detailed evaluation of the Probable Cause Affidavit, Search Warrant and the particular facts of your case will determine if this entry was illegal and as a result prohibit admission of any evidence obtained in violation of the law from being allowed in court.

If your question is simply whether the police can enter with only an arrest warrant, the simple answer is �yes� if they have real reason to believe that the subject of the warrant is inside the dwelling. However, the entry is limited to acts necessary to effectuate arrest.

As always my best advice is to discuss this issue with your lawyer.

TEXAS CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY