Can the police search the whole house if they put my son\'s name on the search warrant and not mine? My name is on the lease.

A search warrant for a residence is directed to the property address, not to the owner or tenant. To get a search warrant for a specific place, like a home, the police must provide a judge with an sworn affidavit showing probable cause to believe evidence of criminal activity will be found at the residence. If the judge issues a search warrant for the home, it does not matter who actually owns or leases the property--the police are entitled to enter and search the home. It may be that the affidavit for the warrant stated that the police believed evidence pertaining to a crime involving your son would be found at the residence and thus asked the judge to issue a warrant for the home. Usually, this is sufficient. However, the Fourth Amendment contains a provision that the place to be searched and the items to be seized must be set out in the warrant with sufficient particularity. For example, if the warrant authorized the police to search your home for a refrigerator, and they searched your underwear drawers, the search likely would not be upheld as reasonable because it is impossible for a refrigerator to be found in small drawers. This could mean that the police improperly executed the warrant. If you feel that the search warrant was overbroad in authorizing a search of the entire home, or that in searching your home, the police exceeded the scope of the search authorized by the warrant, you should consult a criminal defense attorney in your area who can ask you appropriate questions concerning the specific facts of your case and help you decide whether your son has grounds to challenge the warrant.