Can a person videotape the inside ofyour house and belongings withoutyour consent and then it turn it over to the police for purposes of obtaining a search warrant?
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Can a person videotape the inside ofyour house and belongings withoutyour consent and then it turn it over to the police for purposes of obtaining a search warrant?
A maintenance man entered my place while I was gone video taped my belongings, and then called police. The police used this video to obtain a search warrant to raid my house while I wasn’t even home. I came home to a house full of police after being gone about 3 hours. Should I speak with a criminal defense attorney? In St. Francois County, MO.
Asked on September 3, 2011 under Criminal Law, Missouri
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
If you voluntarily allowed a maintenance man to come into your home via permission, you had no justifiable expectation of privacy as to what he saw, videotaped or photographed as a matter of law. As such, the maintenance man who was able to obtain permissive access to your unit was able to depict what he saw in your house and was not precluded from notifying law enforcement as to what was observed.
Apparently what was observed and depicted upon videotape by the maintenance man was sufficient enough to determine probable cause that a crime or offense had taken place to have a search warrant issued by a judge for law enforcement to obtain access to your home.
Given the fact that your home was subject to a search warrant under your ownership, you should consult with a criminal defense attorney.
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