History Main / NoWarrantNoProblem

Compare EmptyCopThreat.

* ''[[Literature/DianaTregarde Jinx High]]'': When Diana, Larry, and Mark find [[spoiler:Fay Harper's]] ritual space, Mark picks the lock on both the gate across the road and the building itself.

Generally in democratic societies, there are only very limited [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exigent_circumstance exigent circumstances]] where a warrantless entry can be done. One of these circumstances is "Hot Pursuit"; i.e. if a cop is chasing a suspect and the suspect runs into a house and slams the door closed, the cop does not have to stop and get a warrant to enter. TheOtherWiki has an article on [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_pursuit Hot Pursuit]]. ''However'', if you are a member of the Armed Forces, or on a military installation, your person, your car, your belongings, and your quarters can be searched at any time, for any reason, without a warrant. Military personnel give up this right when they join-or are drafted into-the military. Visitors to military installations should pay close attention to the signs at every gate which clearly state that all visitors are subject to search without warrant or warning. If you enter the base, you've agreed to those conditions.

Generally in democratic societies, there are only very limited [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exigent_circumstance exigent circumstances]] where a warrantless entry can be done. One of these circumstances is "Hot Pursuit"; i.e. if a cop is chasing a suspect and the suspect runs into a house and slams the door closed, the cop does not have to stop and get a warrant to enter. TheOtherWiki has an article on [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_pursuit Hot Pursuit]].

* Played straight on the X-Files episode "Home." Muldar and Scully go to a house in order to locate some suspects. They don't have local law enforcement with them, but as FBI Agents they have jurisdiction, so that's not an issue. Upon arriving at the house, the door is unlocked but it appears no one is home. Muldar starts to open the door to go inside, but Scully stops him, correctly saying that "there's no probable cause" (that a felony has occurred or is occurring, which would allow them to enter the house without a warrant). Taking out his flashlight, Muldar shines it inside and they both see a bloodstained knife lying on he kitchen floor. Without saying a word, both of them draw their guns and enter the house, because now there ''is'' probable cause.

* Played straight in, of all things, ''{{Disney/Zootopia}}''. Judy uses a recording of Nick talking about how much money he makes (without paying income tax) to blackmail him into helping her track down a car, but when they arrive at the lot where it's kept, the gate is locked and Nick correctly guesses that she doesn't have a search warrant. She admits this is true and 'gives' him the recorder back by tossing it into the lot. Nick climbs the fence to get to it, only to find that Judy has burrowed underneath the fence and beaten him in.

* ''Film/BeverlyHillsCop'': This is Axel Foley's modus operandi (''especially'' because he's a ''Detroit'' cop, and thus [[JurisdictionFriction has no jurisdiction]]), but one example stands out on the first film, where he makes a LampshadeHanging that he has no probable cause to check Maitland's warehouse for drugs (to keep Officer Rosewood from following him), and pulls a BavarianFireDrill on the guards involving [[AuditThreat Audit Threats]] when they think it's wrong for him to be there.

Many countries, such as the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates, require police officers to gain permission from either the homeowner or the courts before they collect evidence or enter a residence to investigate. Writers often [[ArtisticLicenseLaw completely ignore this in favour of an interesting narrative.]] Ignoring the rules for evidence collection and the limits (legal or [[SacredHospitality otherwise]]) of hospitality is a line that both the DirtyCop and CowboyCop will cross in service to their desires. Any time the ByTheBookCop is willing to cross this line is distinctive moment for that character, possibly CharacterDevelopment into a different type of cop.

Cops who cross this line may try to justify their actions before or after the fact with a BlatantLies excuse of hearing a call for help, finding the door open when they arrived, or telling the suspect that they will be asking a routine questionnaire (most probably confirmation of name, status and minor questions about the case at hand). They can also justify PerpSweating a suspect without their consent, using nonsense like ConvictionByContradiction (provided by, for example, [[BeAsUnhelpfulAsPossible the ire of the suspect upon the violation of his rights]]) to continue their examination past what is legally allowed. In all cases, the cop breaking the rule and at least one other character is aware of the laws regarding evidence collection, but those laws are being disregarded for the sake of the story.

* ''Film/DirtyHarry'': Under pressure to rescue a girl BuriedAlive, Detective Callahan breaks into the home of serial killer Scorpio on a tip and tortures a confession and the hostage's location out of him. The confession and the murder weapon he collects are inadmissible, Scorpio walks, and on top of it all, [[spoiler: he is too late to save her]].

* On the first two ''Film/DeathWish'' films, this happens to Paul Kersey. Even more, both times his house is broken in and searched is by the same cop (and on the latter movie he has absolutely no jurisdiction because he's an NY detective and Kersey is living in LA-also he uses the moment he breaks in to try to intimidate Kersey's GirlOfTheWeek into convincing Kersey to stop, an even bigger legal no-no if the woman decided to report it). While the police has ''suspicion'' about Kersey being the vigilante they are looking for on the first film, they have no ''evidence'' up until said break-in is done and the detective finds some bloody tissues to compare with the blood on a knife that Kersey had been wounded with. This is all presented as evidence that the New York police is more concerned about ''looking'' efficient that they are with actually ''being'' efficient, [[TheLopsidedArmOfTheLaw and thus go after anybody who dares make them look bad, legality be damned]].

** A case of {{HollywoodLaw}} causing a {{BrokenAesop}}, since police officers don't need a warrant to search a home when they have the homeowner's consent to entry.

* ''Series/{{Columbo}}'': Lieutenant Columbo is a perfect example of the second variety of the Trope-he continuously pesters the suspects by appearing anywhere they are (work, home, middle of the street, wherever) and claiming he is just going to "ask some questions"-that start as random nit-picking and become PerpSweating by annoyance as the episode continues. He has also grabbed evidence and kept it to himself ([[HollywoodLaw disregarding the chain of evidence completely]]) to confront a suspect with it later on. At least in one episode he ''explicitly'' said that the suspect's hostile response to this modus operandi was leading him on the right path, because he "struck a nerve".
* ZigZagged in an episode of ''Series/TheCommish'' when Tony is faced with an illegal search dilemma during the hunt for a stolen baby. He's reasonably sure he's at the right house, but he can't wait for a search warrant. If he goes in without a warrant the search will be illegal and the perp will walk, but if he waits the baby could die (it has a rare condition and needs its medicine). He tries to play the "did you hear that?" game with his supporting officers but realizes he's too honest for that. He busts in anyway and finds the baby.

** An odd example comes up when ADA Cabot orders Stabler and Benson to search a house for evidence in a child-molestation case, saying that she has a search warrant. It turns out that she lied. The evidence is still ruled admissible as it wasn't the suspect's house that was searched, but the judge tears Cabot a new asshole over this.

** "Mr. Monk Goes to a Wedding" lampshades it when Stottlemeyer uncovers evidence tying Jonathan's new wife, to an attempt on Randy's life:

* PlayedWith in ''Series/{{Witchblade}}'' in which a ByTheBookCop visits the home of a man he knows to be a serial killer but has no evidence, trying to goad the man into revealing something, but goes away empty handed. He later learns that there was a victim imprisoned inside the apartment, and if he had burst in on some flimsy excuse he could have saved her life.
* In ''Series/WhiteCollar'', Peter is a ByTheBookCop, so he won't use this trope. That's why [[BoxedCrook Neal]] frequently sets up the situation, where Peter can still do this and yet avoid any problems. In one episode, the feds know that a certain guy is producing fake bearer bonds, but there's no enough evidence to get a warrant to raid his warehouse. So, Neal leaves the area he's supposed to stay in and breaks into the warehouse. The bad guy captures him and is smug about it until he realizes what happened. By law, FBI is allowed to pursue a fleeing convict (Neal) to anywhere they know he is (thanks to his ankle monitor). If, in the process of pursuing him, they happen to find evidence of a crime, they're allowed to make the arrest, and the search is legal. Cue Peter and the other feds bursting into the warehouse and arresting everyone.

* In ''Webcomic/TheIllustratedGuideToLaw'', most searches are, in fact, warrantless (TruthInTelevision). The important question is whether a warrantless search was ''reasonable'' - it's not automatically a bad search.

* Played straight in, of all things, ''{{Disney/Zootopia}}''. Judy uses a recording of Nick talking about how much money he makes(without paying income tax) to blackmail him into helping her track down a car, but when they arrive at the lot where it's kept, the gate is locked and Nick correctly guesses that she doesn't have a search warrant. She admits this is true and 'gives' him the recorder back by tossing it into the lot. Nick climbs the fence to get to it, only to find that Judy has burrowed underneath the fence and beaten him in.

It is the duty of InternalAffairs to discover and punish cops who cross this line, but this rarely comes up, except when the story needs {{Padding}}, or a HalfwayPlotSwitch, when the second part of the episode is about this sort of misuse of authority.

* An episode of ''Series/AllInTheFamily'' has Archie getting arrested for posession of a weapon without a permit when he lets a policeman into his house, but the case is thrown out of court because he didn't have a search warrant. The plot is meant to deliver an {{Aesop}} about why policemen have limits on how they can enforce the law.

* In an episode of ''Series/{{Castle}}'', ThoseTwoGuys Esposito and Ryan are tracking down the owner of a safe deposit box, no one is answering the door. Ryan says "Did you hear that", Esposito immediately follows with "Yeah...", fakes a "help" in a female voice, and they barge in... to find a dead body.

* ''{{Series/Monk}}'' had Captain Stottlemyer and Monk checking out the home of a security guard they needed to ask questions of, but the door was locked and no one answered the door. Captain said the room through the window was messy, and it was probably a fight. When Monk challenged him on if this was "probably probable cause", he said that was good enough to enter.

Generally in democratic societies, there are only very limited circumstances where a warrantless entry can be done. One of these circumstances is "Hot Pursuit"; i.e. if a cop is chasing a suspect and the suspect runs into a house and slams the door closed, the cop does not have to stop and get a warrant to enter. TheOtherWiki has an article on [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_pursuit Hot Pursuit]].

Many countries, such as the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates, require police officers to gain permission from either the homeowner or the courts before they collect evidence or enter a residence to investigate. Writers often [[ArtisticLicenseLaw completely ignore this in favour of an interesting narrative.]] Ignoring the rules for evidence collection and the limits (legal or otherwise) of hospitality is a line that both the DirtyCop and CowboyCop will cross in service to their desires. Any time the ByTheBookCop is willing to cross this line is distinctive moment for that character, possibly CharacterDevelopment into a different type of cop.

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* Averted in ''BloodandSmoke''. During the first chapter Carson asks Hardigan to check footage from working security cameras.

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[[AC:RealLife]]
* Generally in democratic societies, there are only very limited circumstances where a warrantless entry can be done. One of these circumstances is "Hot Pursuit"; i.e. if a cop is chasing a suspect and the suspect runs into a house and slams the door closed, the cop does not have to stop and get a warrant to enter. TheOtherWiki has an article on [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_pursuit Hot Pursuit]].

!Examples

* ''TheBruteMan'': A fugitive breaks into a blind woman's apartment to hide. He asks her for help, saying that "some men" are after him. She hears a knock on the door and tells him to hide in another room. When she opens the door, three men barge into her home without even identifying themselves as police officers (although two were wearing uniforms, they didn't try to show her a badge or even offer any explanation), and she tells them that [[ExactWords she didn't see anyone]]. The leader then orders his men to look in the woman's bedroom (with no search warrant, no explanation offered to the woman), but the fugitive escapes through a window. Later in the film, the police arrest her for harboring a criminal, but she claims innocence because she didn't know he was a criminal and didn't know the officers were policemen since they didn't even identify themselves.

* An episode of ''AllInTheFamily'' has Archie getting arrested for posession of a weapon without a permit when he lets a policeman into his house, but the case is thrown out of court because he didn't have a search warrant. The plot is meant to deliver an {{Aesop}} about why policemen have limits on how they can enforce the law.

* [[Series/{{Columbo}} Lieutenant Columbo]] is a perfect example of the second variety of the Trope-he continuously pesters the suspects by appearing anywhere they are (work, home, middle of the street, wherever) and claiming he is just going to "ask some questions"-that start as random nit-picking and become PerpSweating by annoyance as the episode continues. He has also grabbed evidence and kept it to himself ([[HollywoodLaw disregarding the chain of evidence completely]]) to confront a suspect with it later on. At least in one episode he ''explicitly'' said that the suspect's hostile response to this modus operandi was leading him on the right path, because he "struck a nerve".

* In an episode of ''LawAndOrderSVU'', Benson and Stabler go to the suspect's apartment to question him and hear him having consensual sex with his girlfriend. They break down the door, and Stabler smirkingly claims that they had exigent circumstances because they heard a woman moaning.