Chico, CA Criminal Defense Law Firms & Lawyers

It depends what the SW says. If it says search the residence they can search anywhere they could find what they were searching for. (They could not search drawers to find a stolen car, but they can for drugs.)

The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that no person shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself. This is called the "privilege against self-incrimination." If you have been subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury, and intend to invoke your fifth amendment rights, it would be wise to retain counsel to advise you as to whether you do in fact have a valid fifth amendment claim, and, assuming you do, what is the best way for you to invoke it. Many lawyers think the best approach is to respond only to the first question, which usually asks you to state your name, and then in response to the second and all subsequent questions, even benign ones, to state, "I refuse to answer on the grounds that my answer might incriminate me." The reason to invoke the privilege so early, even before the questioning has gotten to the actual topic that might incriminate you, is that it is very difficult to "selectively" invoke the privilege?that is answer some questions and refuse to answer others. Many courts have held that once you answer a question on a certain topic, you have given up your right to invoke the privilege. This happened to Patty Hearst in the 1970''s when she convicted of bank robbery at a trial in which she tried to answer some questions but invoke the privilege on others. Even her lawyer, F.Lee Bailey, couldn''t save her from this legal minefield. So while there are no magic words, just be very clear. As soon as possible after stating your name, tell the prosecutor and grand jurors that any answers you give may tend to incriminate you and you are invoking your constitutional privilege against self-incrimination.

You can expect it to happen any time there is probable cause, or when their safety is in issue. The courts have held they have broad discretion to do it almost any time.