Transcription
It's 9:30 at night. You're at home. Kids are in bed and you're watching TV when suddenly there's a knock at the front door. You go straight to the front door, you open it and find two police officers staring at you saying, "We got a call about this address."
What you say in the next few seconds will determine whether or not you can get back to your television show or have cops inside your home asking you questions and searching around. And what most people do in this moment is one of the biggest mistakes you can make when cops are at your front door. But I'm not just going to point out the mistake, I'm going to give you the exact words to say to put the law back on your side and I'll support it with case law.
Now, here's what most people don't realize. When cops say, "We got a call about this address," it doesn't necessarily mean it's true. In fact, it's most likely a trap. And it's a trap, it's a trick that they have learned from the academy whenever they come to someone's front door. And let me tell you exactly how it works.
Think about it from the officer's perspective. These sort of walk-up and knock-in-talks are completely routine for them. Noise complaint, welfare check, suspicious person call, they deal with these every day. They also know exactly how this is going to play out. They expect you to answer the door and when they accuse you that they got a call about this address, they're expecting you to start explaining. In fact, if you don't actually open the door, but you talk through the door to the officer, they're trained to make you feel like opening that door and cooperating with them is the only reasonable thing to do. More importantly, it's the required thing for you to do.
But here's what actually happens when you open that door. The moment you swing open the door and they accuse you of a call about this location, you start saying things like, "Well, I have no idea what this could be about." But now you're in a conversation. Your eyes are moving, your body language is being read. Your voice is also being recorded. And anything they can see through that doorway, they can now legally use against you under the plain view doctrine.
Or maybe you do like a lot of people do and open the door and say, "Come on in and let me help you figure this out." That's when cops are relying on what's known as the polite reflex. They know if they come nicely at your front door and you open the door, your reflex is to say, "Come on in." But, by doing so, you just gave explicit consent for that officer to enter your home.
But, maybe you're smarter than that, and you just cracked the door a few inches, maybe just to talk. But, they can still see through those few inches into your home. Maybe the cops now think they see something illegal on the counter, even if they don't. Maybe they also look through and see something that's concerning enough to them they believe it gives them enough reasonable suspicion to believe criminal activity may be taking place. You don't know what they're looking at, but they do, even if it's not really there. You're handing them everything they need, and the officer knows it. That's why they didn't tell you what the call was about.
Now, I need you to understand something about that phrase, "We got a call about this address." The deliberate vagueness by the cops is the strategy here. The less they tell you, the more your brain fills in the blanks. You start running through things. Was my music too loud? Was there an argument going on? Did the kids do anything? And the more your brain fills in the blanks, the more guilt, real or imagined, drives you to think you've got to open that door and answer their questions.
And in fact, here's something most people don't know. Police are legally allowed to fabricate, lie about the reason they're at your front door. Think about that. Cops are legally permitted to say, "We got a call about this address," when no call was ever actually made. Why do they do this? Because they know it's an investigative technique that will get you talking, having you explaining something that never actually happened. So, trying to cooperate your way out of a lie a police officer is telling almost never works, and it always hurts.
But, here's where it gets interesting, because the law is actually on your side, and the cops are counting on you not knowing about it. The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution clearly says that the home is the most protected space you have. Not your car, not the sidewalk, but your home. And in fact, the Supreme Court codified this in 1980 with the case of Payton versus New York. They said police cannot enter a home without a warrant or a recognized exception to the warrant. They can knock, they can call out to you, but they can't force their way in. In fact, the Supreme Court painted a threshold around your door. They can observe, they can knock, they can talk, but they cannot force their way in without a warrant or an actual observable emergency. A call from a neighbor is never a warrant. Cops claiming, "We got a call." is never a warrant. "We just want to ask some questions." that's not a warrant, either.
And here's what most people miss. If the cops had a warrant, they wouldn't be asking you to open the door. They'd be announcing, "Police, search warrant, open or we're coming in." They don't knock and politely wait for you to cooperate when they have a warrant. They just knock and force their way in. The fact they're asking is the tell you have to recognize. Their asking means they don't have one.
But wait a minute, Jeff, what about this whole welfare check argument and cops coming to the front door claiming, "We're only here looking out for your safety under the community caretaking doctrine." And it's true, for years police used something called the community caretaking doctrine to enter a home to check on someone without a warrant for their own safety. But in 2021, the Supreme Court decided in Caniglia versus Strom that this whole welfare check doctrine, this whole "I'm here on a community caretaking function." it does not apply to your home, which means officers can't enter into someone's home to check on their welfare unless they have a warrant. Now, the community caretaking function might apply to your vehicle, but it can never apply to your front door. Cops using this welfare check trick has been one of the most commonly used tricks cops have used for many years, but after Caniglia versus Strom, they're not allowed to legally use it anymore. Unless you fall for their trick, and then you consent to let them in, which is precisely why they're hoping you'll fall for that trick of a welfare check and open the door and start talking, because then they'll have everything they need. Because they're really just fishing for one thing you might say, one little thing they might see to give them justification for the next step to get in your home.
So, you can't open the door and explain for the reasons we just covered. If you remain completely silent and the cops do have an actual warrant, they may be able to break down your door. But if you try to approach the door and you are either rude or maybe then you refuse to keep talking, the cops will write down that you were combative and uncooperative.
So, what on earth do you do? Here's the exact steps and words to say.
Number one, always keep the door closed. Never open it. You either speak through the door or through the peephole. This is your constitutional right. Quote, "Officer, do you have a warrant for this address?" If they say yes, ask to see a copy of it through a mail slot or through the window. Up against the glass. You have a right to ask. If they put it up against the window, make sure it was signed by an actual judge. I've seen so many times where there was a warrant not actually signed, just presented. People made it inside the house because then they claimed that consent was given when the door was opened and the cops walked in.
If they say they don't have a warrant, say this next. "Without a warrant, I'm not opening the door. If there's a genuine emergency happening right now, tell me exactly what it is. Otherwise, I respect my right not to open the door or have any further conversation."
Why start off by asking if they have a warrant? Because it forces the officer to play their hand and no more lying. If they have a warrant, they're going to have to, based on your request, show you a copy of that warrant. Even if it's up against the window, on a maybe it's a window right next to the door. You have a right to look at it and make sure it's a valid warrant. If they don't have a warrant, you know they have no ability to legally enter your home.
Why ask the cops if there's an emergency going on right now? Because cops love to use what's known as the exigent circumstances doctrine to claim they can break their way into your home without a warrant, thinking some emergency's taken place. By demanding them articulate if there's an emergency and saying what it is, especially if you're recording all of this, it forces their hand to articulate that in real time. And if they don't have a real emergency exception, which they probably don't here, then now you're going to be able to get all this thrown out in court.
And finally, by telling those officers that you are going to exercise your constitutional right not to open that door, you're making it clear you know your rights, you're standing on those rights, and they have no recourse to make their way into your home.
And if the cops push back with their classic claim, "If you don't let us in, we'll go get a warrant." Whatever you do, don't cave, and this is where most people do. Because they're expecting you to feel like there's a sense of inevitability. Your response, "Officer, that's your right. I'll be here, but I'm not letting you in." Plus, think about it. If the cops could have gotten a warrant, they would have already gotten a warrant, and they wouldn't be asking to come in. So, you know they're bluffing.
And if they push back and say, "Well, on our welfare check, I need to be able to see you in person to confirm that you're okay." Under Caniglia versus Strom, here's what you say, "I'm right here. I can confirm that I'm fine. A wellness check doesn't authorize warrantless entry into my home. Do you have a warrant?"
But, what if you crack the door just to show the officer that you're safe and there's no issue with this welfare check, and suddenly they shove their foot in your door. Check out this next video where I break down how to stop cops from shoving their foot in your door. See you over there.