3 ms·

That made me think.... what if instead of finding a search warrant, the FBI shows up at your door and tells your roommate "we want to search this place, here's

That made me think.... what if instead of finding a search warrant, the FBI shows up at your door and tells your roommate "we want to search this place, here's 50 dollars". What if the police go a step further and start offering money to criminals to allow searches. Soon, you'll see people choosing to get busted in order to get an FBI payday, while the FBI can tout their high closed case rate.

randcraw 10y ago
Likewise, if a cable installer or plumber paid by the police enters your home, could they legally search it? Obviously not. But there's still confusion in the courts about the difference between physical and virtual property and the peoples' rights to escape search (using radar through walls or taps on data feeds). This malign overreach of prosecutors relies on that. But I think this practice clearly crosses the line since the property is physically in the hands of an untrusted party. It'd be trivial for Joe Schmo at Best Buy to plant evidence. Because that possibility is so plausible, this chain of evidence has been compromised. Any appeals court would toss this practice as unlawful, IMHO.
- funkymike 10y ago
  It goes even farther than Joe Schmo at Best Buy not being trusted. They are being paid to find "evidence." That direct conflict of interest should invalidate anything they find.
- gozur88 10y ago
  The chain of evidence thing really only applies if the government intends to present that evidence in court. Whether or not this constitutes an unlawful search is a separate question.
gozur88 10y ago
>That made me think.... what if instead of finding a search warrant, the FBI shows up at your door and tells your roommate "we want to search this place, here's 50 dollars". That's actually legal. The catch is they can only search the areas of the home the roommate "controls", meaning anything they find in a shared space like the bathroom or kitchen is legal, but your roommate can't consent to a search of your bedroom if that's understood to be your space. I think it gets dicey if you left the bedroom door open and they can see evidence of a crime from the hallway. If your wife or live-in girlfriend consents to a search the entire place is fair game, though if your wife is willing to sell you out for fifty bucks you have more than one set of problems.

randcraw 10y ago

Likewise, if a cable installer or plumber paid by the police enters your home, could they legally search it? Obviously not. But there's still confusion in the courts about the difference between physical and virtual property and the peoples' rights to escape search (using radar through walls or taps on data feeds). This malign overreach of prosecutors relies on that. But I think this practice clearly crosses the line since the property is physically in the hands of an untrusted party. It'd be trivial for Joe Schmo at Best Buy to plant evidence. Because that possibility is so plausible, this chain of evidence has been compromised. Any appeals court would toss this practice as unlawful, IMHO.

funkymike 10y ago
It goes even farther than Joe Schmo at Best Buy not being trusted. They are being paid to find "evidence." That direct conflict of interest should invalidate anything they find.
gozur88 10y ago
The chain of evidence thing really only applies if the government intends to present that evidence in court. Whether or not this constitutes an unlawful search is a separate question.

gozur88 10y ago

>That made me think.... what if instead of finding a search warrant, the FBI shows up at your door and tells your roommate "we want to search this place, here's 50 dollars". That's actually legal. The catch is they can only search the areas of the home the roommate "controls", meaning anything they find in a shared space like the bathroom or kitchen is legal, but your roommate can't consent to a search of your bedroom if that's understood to be your space. I think it gets dicey if you left the bedroom door open and they can see evidence of a crime from the hallway. If your wife or live-in girlfriend consents to a search the entire place is fair game, though if your wife is willing to sell you out for fifty bucks you have more than one set of problems.