• Can police conduct knock and talks at odd hours of the night?

  • Jan 19 2022
  • Length: 10 mins
  • Podcast

Can police conduct knock and talks at odd hours of the night?

  • Summary

  • The following is a computer generated transcription, some grammar and spelling errors may be inherent.

    Hey guys, Attorney Anthony Bandiero here bringing a roadside chat this time. An officer from Texas wants clarification on knockin talks. And in particular, I guess the question would be, can you do a knock and talk at odd hours at night?

    Okay, the answer is yes. If you have a reason to believe that the occupants would be receptive to uninvited guests, so my friend in Texas, you know, you've seen other videos where I talk about how courts have held that you know, knocking at odd hours at night, you know, police open the door, and the officers going back to write that report and saying, Oh, that was a knock and talk. No, it was not. That is not a knock and talk that was as to say, the least a detention, because what reasonable person would feel free to ignore you. So if they chose to open that door, they have been essentially detained. They're even still in their house, but it's still a form of the tension, because the person did not feel free to leave. And they submitted to your show of authority. Okay. But going back to the question, is it possible to have a knock and talk late at night? What's interesting about this question is it comes very, it's very timely, because there was a case decided, just a few months ago, out of the First Circuit, and here's what happened. Basically, a boyfriend, girlfriend, you know, they're college students, and their relationship is in turmoil. So they break up, the boyfriend doesn't take no for an answer the ex-boyfriend and is basically harassing her, also, in some way stalking her, they end up after, you know, a month or so goes by, they kind of makeup and but just as friends, right, just as friends, at least that's what she wants. He doesn't he wants a relationship again. But you know, she, she allows him to be a friend. And he starts doing really weird stuff again, you know, and they get into a fight in, you know, an argument at his at her house, and he takes her cell phone, alright, and leaves. Now, this happens, you know, around three o'clock in the morning or so. And, you know, she calls the police, the phone is missing. They, you know, believe, you know, they that, you know, obviously he took it right. So they go to his house now, they go to his house around for a 5am kind of read from the case. And they observed the lights on in the home and decided to conduct a knock and talk rather than apply for a warrant to go get that phone. So here, the court said the officers entered the property, walked into the front porch, knocked on the door, and announced that they were police officers seeking to speak with the occupant. No one answered and the officers left the property. Was that in and of itself a constitutional violation? And the court said no, at this point, there was nothing constitutionally infirm about the officer's conduct, which was expressly permitted by the knock and talk exception to the warrant requirement. Okay. So they basically did what the public to do. Um, I want to let you know, though, a key to me in this case, is that the lights were on, and that they knew that French, the defendant here was just at the girlfriend's house recently, so he was up, they knew he was up recently, the lights are on. And, you know, it seems reasonable that maybe French would like to talk to the police and, you know, settled matter like, oh, no, I don't have her cell phone, she probably left it in her car or something. So, so far, so good. Okay. And let's also pause for a second and let me give you the citation. The citation for this case is French versus Merill, M E R, R, I L, excuse me, Ll, and the citation is 15 415. I'm sorry, F fourth. So federal fourth 116 First Circuit 2021. Okay. The problem is, though, they the officers in that case, went back to the home

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