- January 22, 2025
- Warrants Blogs
In the United States, the rights of the accused are well protected by the Constitution. Police and other agents of the state must follow strict procedures to search your person or your property. When these procedures are disregarded, any evidence they uncover during the search can be thrown out by the court. This can result in reduced or even dismissed charges and can also make you eligible to file a lawsuit against the government for violating your rights. Knowing how to fight unlawful searches is vital if you are the victim of an illegal search in Tampa.
If you believe that the police in Tampa, Florida, unreasonably searched you or your belongings or coerced you into giving consent to a search, the attorneys at Taracks & Associates may be able to help. Contact our law firm at 813-281-2897 immediately for a free case review to learn how we can protect your rights.
What to Do When You Are the Victim of an Unlawful Search
If you believe you have been the victim of an unlawful search in Tampa, the first thing you should do is contact a criminal defense lawyer who knows how to fight unlawful searches in Florida. Just because the police or prosecution have violated your rights, this doesn’t guarantee that the evidence they unlawfully uncovered will be dismissed.
You’ll need to petition a judge to dismiss that evidence, prove it was obtained during an unlawful search, and provide sound legal reasoning for why it shouldn’t be used against you in a criminal case. This is a complex process that is best left to experienced Florida criminal defense lawyers.
When a Search Is Unlawful in Tampa
On the other side of the coin, a police search of your property or person may be legal, depending on the circumstances. According to the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, you are protected against unreasonable searches and seizures. The key term in that amendment is “unreasonable.”
This means that the state can search you or your property if it takes reasonable steps to ensure that your due process rights are protected. In Florida, those reasonable steps are detailed by statutes defining how search and inspection warrants must be applied for and implemented. The rules dictate the ways police or prosecutors can petition a judge for a warrant and how it must be executed.
When the police or prosecution wants permission to search a person or location, it must petition an unbiased judge and receive permission based on reasonable criteria.
However, getting a warrant isn’t the only legal way to perform a search. The police can also conduct a search if they lawfully get permission from the person being searched or the person who owns the property being searched. This exception can help speed up investigations, especially when someone wants to willingly allow a search to prove their innocence. However, it can also lead to abuse.
Police can request willing consent, but they may not perform a search resulting from unwilling consent. This means the following tactics are forbidden when police seek permission to search:
Coerced Consent
Coercion is strictly prohibited when acquiring permission to search. The police can argue that agreeing to a search will speed up the process or allow you to prove your innocence, but those arguments can’t involve any type of threat, implicit or explicit.
For example, if the police threaten to arrest you if you don’t agree to a search, they are using direct coercion. That coercion is not permitted, and you should record any such interactions so that your attorney can prove that you were illegally coerced.
Implicit coercion also isn’t allowed. Just because the police don’t explicitly threaten you, their actions may still be threatening to the average person. If, for example, four police officers arrive at your door, you may feel intimidated. You might feel frightened if you attempt to close your door and an officer blocks you by placing a foot in the way. Even if they say nothing directly threatening, such behavior is implicitly threatening and could persuade you to provide consent to a search just to resolve the situation.
Consent Under Duress
Duress is a specific type of coercion that involves a situation where you feel like you have lost control. Imagine, for example, that you were just involved in a car accident, and the police are present without medical personnel. If a police officer offers to drive you to the hospital if you permit them to search your vehicle, that could serve as grounds for consent under duress.
The duress was created by the injuries that you incurred in the accident. However, the police officer is trying to take advantage of that duress to convince you to give up your rights. Even if you provided consent, a court likely wouldn’t allow that search to stand.
Lying to You About Your Rights
Additionally, the police cannot outright lie about your rights. For example, the police can’t tell you that you are required by law to consent to a search before you can consult with a lawyer. That is factually inaccurate and would deny your right to counsel.
When possible, you should record all interactions with the police. While they should also be recording the interactions on worn cameras, all too often, that evidence is unavailable when requested. If you have evidence of the interaction, you can prove this type of misrepresentation before a court of law.
Contact a Criminal Defense Lawyer in Tampa Today
When the police are investigating a crime in Florida, they may try to get consent for a search instead of spending time obtaining a warrant. There are tactics that they can legally use to obtain this willing consent. However, if the police use illegal tactics, an experienced lawyer may be able to get any evidence acquired in those circumstances dismissed.
If you believe that Tampa police or prosecutors illegally coerced you into providing consent for a search of your person or property, contact Taracks & Associates at 813-281-2897 as soon as possible to schedule a free case review.