History Main / NoWarrantNoProblem

* ''Film/SmokeyAndTheBandit'': Over the course of three films, small-town Sheriff Buford T. Justice uses and abuses the "Hot Pursuit" rule to the point of absolute insanity (saying "I'm in hot pursuit!" is his CatchPhrase, even), chasing after Bandit through ''multiple states'' on charges that are either trumped up or not even done on his jurisdiction. When other law enforcement tries to ask what the hell is he doing, he will tell them to get out of his way.

* One episode of ''{{Dexter}}'' features Deb, not wanting to wait for a warrant to search [[SerialKiller George King]]'s house, claiming to hear a cry for help before breaking down the door.

* Played with in an episode of ''Series/AdamTwelve''. Reed and Malloy serve an arrest warrant for a misdemeanor and Reed helpfully (he thinks) goes into the back of the house to make sure the back door is locked. The suspect tells him not to, however, and in the man's kitchen Reed stumbles on drug manufacturing supplies. This is ultimately ruled an illegal search even though Reed wasn't actively looking for evidence, and the drug charge is dismissed.

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. Wiki/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. The same goes for prisoners, of course, and people entering or exiting the US at airports or border posts.

* ''Film/AntManAndTheWasp'': Scott's ex-wife Maggie tries to argue about this in defense of Scott, but the [=FBI=] genuinely doesn't need one since Scott is under house arrest.

* In ''Film/BadBoys'', Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett are discussing that there appears to be no one home at the house of a suspect, and Mike leans in and opens the door, saying out loud "I tripped, and the door just opened. It's like they wanted us to come in."

* ''Film/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.

* Played with in an episode of ''Series/AdamTwelve''. Reed and Malloy serve an arrest warrant for a misdemeanor and Reed helpfully (he thinks) goes into the back of the house to make sure the back door is locked. The suspect tells him not to, however, and in the man's kitchen Reed stumbles on drug manufacturing supplies. This is ultimately ruled an illegal search even though Reed wasn't actively looking for evidence, and the drug charge is dismissed.
* ''Series/TheMentalist'' flipflops between playing the trope straight and having SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome occur. On the one hand, Lisbon's team members sometimes break into houses while pretending to hear cries for help. On at least one occasion, however, Jane, [[NoBadgeNoProblem a police consultant who in reality would be subject to the same rules as the police themselves]], inadvertently leaves traces of his breaking-and-entering behind and blows their murder case against a contract killer until the team can find new evidence.

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

* Played straight on ''Series/TheXFiles'' episode "Home". Mulder 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. Mulder 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, Mulder shines it inside and they both see a bloodstained knife lying on the kitchen floor. Without saying a word, both of them draw their guns and enter the house, because now there ''is'' probable cause.

* ''Series/TheMentalist'' flipflops between playing the trope straight and having {{Reality Ensue|s}}. On the one hand, Lisbon's team members sometimes break into houses while pretending to hear cries for help. On at least one occasion, however, Jane, [[NoBadgeNoProblem a police consultant who in reality would be subject to the same rules as the police themselves]], inadvertently leaves traces of his breaking-and-entering behind and blows their murder case against a contract killer until the team can find new evidence.

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, absent certain exceptions. Writers often [[HollywoodLaw completely ignore these in favor 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 a distinctive moment for that character, possibly CharacterDevelopment into a different type of cop.

-->--'''Judy Hopps''', ''Disney/{{Zootopia}}''

* Played straight in ''Disney/{{Zootopia}}''. When Judy and Nick reach the limo service business holding the car they are tracking, they find it closed and Judy doesn't have a warrant. Judy prepares to give Nick back the recorder pen she was using to blackmail him but tosses it over the fence at the last second. Nick climbs the fence to get it, only to find that Judy has burrowed underneath the fence and beaten him in with this excellent response:

See SusLaw for a justified version of this trope. Compare EmptyCopThreat.

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 a distinctive moment for that character, possibly CharacterDevelopment into a different type of cop.

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. Wiki/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.

* CowboyCop Tom Ludlow in ''Film/StreetKings'' invokes this after trailing kidnappers to their hideout, and ambushing them unannounced. When being debriefed by his captain, he lies, claiming "exigent circumstances" as his rationale for busting in without a warrant, backup, or even an announcement.

* 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]].

* 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 the officer didn't have a search warrant. The plot is meant to deliver an {{Aesop}} about why cops have limits on how they can enforce the law. 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.

-> '''Sheriff Wes''': Your mother won't let us search the house.\\
'''Steve''': Well, you don't have a warrant.\\
'''Sheriff Wes''': Do you really want me to get one?
-->--''Film/BrighamCity''

-->'''Judy:''' The thing is, you don't ''need'' a warrant if you have probable cause, and I'm pretty sure I saw a ''shifty lowlife climbing the fence.''

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

!!Examples

[[folder:{{Film}}]]

[[folder:{{Literature}}]]

* ''Literature/JinxHigh'': 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.
--> "Boy, I'll tell you, it's amazing how careless people are, leaving their gates unlocked like that."
** Subverted in that while Mark's a cop (outside his jurisdiction, but still a cop), it's not like anything will be going before a judge -- the group just wants to sabotage any spells the owner has prepared and drain off the owner's stored {{Mana}}.

[[folder:LiveActionTV]]
* 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 the officer didn't have a search warrant. The plot is meant to deliver an {{Aesop}} about why cops have limits on how they can enforce the law.
** A case of {{Hollywood Law}} causing a {{Broken Aesop}}, 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".
** Played straight in an episode on a British cruise ship, where a murder has occurred while Columbo and his wife are vacationing. Knowing that he's a police detective, the Captain of the ship asks for Columbo's assistance. Columbo does so, but makes it clear he is only capable of assisting and has absolutely no authority or jurisdiction on a cruise ship on the high seas. A crew member is a suspect, and Columbo says they'll need a search warrant to check his cabin for the murder weapon. The Captain states that he doesn't need a warrant to search a crew members' quarters (TruthInTelevision, he doesn't) and orders his first officer to immediately search the cabin.

* In an episode of ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'', 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.

* ''{{Series/Monk}}'':

-->'''Natalie Teeger:''' You broke into her room? Is that legal?
-->'''Captain Leland Stottlemeyer:''' You don't need a search warrant to go into a hotel room if it's after checkout.
-->'''Adrian Monk:''' Is that true?
-->'''Captain Leland Stottlemeyer:''' I don't know.

* Played straight on ''Series/TheXFiles'' 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 the kitchen floor. Without saying a word, both of them draw their guns and enter the house, because now there ''is'' probable cause.

* ''Series/TheMentalist'' flipflops between playing the trope straight and having {{Reality Ensue|s}}. On the one hand Lisbon's team members sometimes break into houses while pretending to hear cries for help. On at least one occasion, however, Jane, [[NoBadgeNoProblem a police consultant who in reality would be subject to the same rules as the police themselves]], inadvertently leaves traces of his breaking-and-entering behind and blows their murder case against a contract killer until the team can find new evidence.

[[folder:VideoGames]]

-->'''[[ByTheBookCop Jayden]]''': I'm not sure that's entirely legal.\\
'''[[RabidCop Blake]]''': Call the cops.

[[folder:WebComics]]
* Averted in ''BloodandSmoke''. Carson is shown strictly following police procedure.

[[folder:WesternAnimation]]
* Played straight in ''{{Disney/Zootopia}}''. When Judy and Nick reach the limo service business holding the car they are tracking, they find it closed and Judy doesn't have a warrant. Judy prepares to give Nick back the recorder pen she was using to blackmail him but tosses it over the fence at the last second. Nick climbs the fence to get it, only to find that Judy has burrowed underneath the fence and beaten him in with this excellent response:
-->'''Judy:''' The thing is, you don't ''need'' a warrant if you have probable cause, and I'm pretty sure I saw a ''shifty lowlife climbing the fence.''
[[/folder]]

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. Wiki/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.

* 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 cops have limits on how they can enforce the law.

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. Wiki/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.

-->'''[[ByTheBookCop Jayden]]''': I'm not sure that's entirely legal.
-->'''[[RabidCop Blake]]''': Call the cops.

* 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 the kitchen floor. Without saying a word, both of them draw their guns and enter the house, because now there ''is'' probable cause.