Can Law Enforcement Execute a Warrantless Search of Your Computer?
Prosecutors may try to do what they can to search your computer without a warrant for evidence of child pornography. There are some exceptions to the Fourth Amendment requirements for a search warrant. However, these exceptions are not limited. If you choose to fight the charges against you, attacking the legality of the search is one way to earn an acquittal.
The baseline from the Constitution is that you have an expectation of privacy in something like your home computer. In this regard, a computer is like any other closed container on your property where law enforcement would need a warrant. Case after case has reached this conclusion. Under normal circumstances, law enforcement cannot execute a warrantless search. This is a different story if the computer is outside your home or if you are on some sort of shared drive.
Law Enforcement May Try to Argue that There Is an Emergency
Without a warrant, law enforcement would need an exception. The one that they rely on most often to execute warrantless searches is the “exigent circumstances” requirement. Here, police will almost always try to claim that the evidence is in danger of destruction, so they do not have the time to wait until they get a warrant. Otherwise, the images may be erased from the computer.
However, law enforcement does not have an unlimited right to claim this in defending a warrantless search. In some cases, courts will either dispute the danger of destruction that the prosecutor is claiming or hold the law enforcement still has enough time to legally obtain a search warrant. If you are able to keep the evidence out of court, the prosecutor will not be able to use it, and it is as if it does not exist. Any evidence that is obtained on the basis of an illegal search is “fruit of the poisonous tree.”
You Can Challenge Warrantless Searches
There are other ways that prosecutors could try to justify a warrantless search. For example, if police were in a person’s home for a lawful reason, and they saw an image on the screen that gave them probable cause to believe that a crime was committed, they would have the legal right to search the laptop. They could also search a computer if they seized it during a lawful arrest.
Nonetheless, if police searched your computer without a warrant, it gives your defense attorney an opening to challenge the evidence. They certainly do not have a blanket exception to create an emergency after the fact. This is where you need an aggressive attorney who is not afraid to go after every part of the prosecutor’s case, especially evidence that they have seized and are now trying to use to win a conviction.
Contact an Internet Sex Crimes Lawyer
Call the experienced attorneys at Cohen Law offices if you are facing internet sex crimes charges at (715) 514-5051. If you have been charged with possession of pornography after the police have seized your laptop, it is crucial that you retain a defense attorney immediately.
