>From:    Joyce Miller <[log in to unmask]>
>>If a neighbor threatens your skinnies, let them know that any search
>>warrant must have their full name on it to be valid...
 
>Errr...  And it still won't be valid...  A third party cannot give valid
>consent to search premises unless they have "joint access and control for
>most purposes." I.e., NOT your landlord, not your girlfriend who just
>visits on weekends, etc.  Your rent-paying, on-the-lease roomate, yes.
>There's a valid exception called "apparent authority," where if the police
>were misled, the search could still be valid, i.e, if your girlfriend lies
>to the police, says she's married to you, and lets the police in with a key.
>
>But no, the police can't just burst in on someone else's say-so.  That's
>what the 4th Amendment of the US Constitution is all about...
 
Jim replies:
Sorry to quote so much, but this is important.  If your info is correct,
then how *do* they ever get search warrants?  Like, let's say an informer
tells the cops that you have, say, a methamphetamines lab in your basement.
As I understand it, if the cops can show a judge that you're a probable
reliable infomant, they can get a warrant and go look.
 
"Neighbor turn-ins" *are* a major problem.  In most cases, the otherwise
law-abiding fert owner just "caves in" as soon as somebody in uniform
confronts them about weasels...they don't put up any sort of (legal!) fight
at all.  Which is what I'd like to see change...us weaselers need to know
our rights...
[Posted in FML issue 1548]