QUESTION
can police look into the back door of your house with or without a flashlight even if they were legally on the property
Asked on May 24th, 2014 on Police Misconduct - New Jersey
More details to this question:
Even if police were legally searching backyards for whatever reason, can they walk down a flight of stairs and right up to your back door (which are double glass doors in my case) while using a flashlight in pitch black to see whats happening inside. They said they were back there legally due to noise complaints arising from a situation the next street over, which I had no involvement with.
1 ANSWER
Criminal Defense Attorney serving Toms River, NJ
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Edward J. Dimon
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the key is whether the police had a legal right to be in your backyard. if there was a noise complaint which could be coming from your backyard, the police can enter the backyard. if the police are there legally, they can use the flashlight for personal safety and observe what the light shows. the question is how far can they look with the light ? there are right at the border with the flight downstairs and looking into the house. what was seized when they looked into the house ? ed dimon, esq. 732-797-1600 ext 235
Answered on May 27th, 2014 at 5:59 PM