Legal Question: Do Cops Need a Warrant to Search Your Hotel Room?

This question comes from Austin, who asks:

Can cops just bust into your hotel room without a warrant? We’re watching “Law and Order: SVU,” and the cops had the hotel manager open up someone’s hotel room without the hotel guest’s permission. Can they do that?

Great question, Austin!

CAN BENSON AND STABLER BUST UP IN YOUR ROOM AT THE LA QUINTA?

No, but there are exceptions. Searches of someone’s “residence,” including a temporary residence like a hotel room, are governed by our constitutional right against unlawful search and seizure. That right is found in the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution, which reads:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons and houses against unreasonable searches and seizures, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Constitutional rights are not absolute. The Supreme Court is empowered with judicial review, meaning it decides whether laws are in line with the Constitution. Whether a search is reasonable or valid under the Fourth Amendment has been refined through case law and statutes throughout the years.

The Court has recognized a few exceptions to the right against unlawful searches. If one of those exceptions is present, the ragtag crew from NYPD’s 16th Precinct would be able to crack that hotel door and dig around in your stuff.

WHAT ARE THE EXCEPTIONS?

If the person being searched gives their permission (called “consenting” to the search), then the police don’t need a warrant. If they don’t have consent and they don’t have a warrant, then authorities need an exception in order to try and perform a lawful search.

The exception used fairly often is known as “exigent circumstances.” Exigent means “pressing or demanding,” so exigent circumstances are situations where there is an immediate need for the authorities to enter without waiting for a warrant. These include a “grave threat” to the safety of the investigating police, members of the public, or their property. It could also be to stop a suspect from escaping. It could also be when there is a belief that evidence will be lost or destroyed by not entering. I’m

The police can’t just be walking by when this happens. They have to have “probable cause” or the reasonable belief that crime has taken place or is currently taking place before they can act.

LoûIf there are no exigent circumstances, no consent, and no warrant to search, there are other ways for police to search. If you leave something illegal out in the open and the cops just happen to see it, then that is not usually considered an unlawful search. This is called the “plain view doctrine.” There's no need to search when anyone walking by could see the contraband. Similarly, if the police are lawfully arresting someone, they are able to search while making that arrest. This is called a “search incident to a lawful arrest.”

WHAT IF THE MANAGER LETS THEM IN?

If the cops aren’t kicking down your hotel door, they may be sweet talking the manager to let them in. Unless they have a warrant or one of the exceptions above exist, the manager can’t let them in your room. Your room is your domain for as long as you've checked in, followed hotel rules, and paid for your reservation.

WHAT IF I CHECK OUT?

Once you check out, your rights stop. Anything you left behind in the now-vacant room could be searched by the police. 

Also, if you are forcibly removed from the hotel for violating hotel rules, or if you leave on your own accord before you check out (called “abandonment”), you no longer have claim to the room you were staying in. After that, the hotel management could let authorities in and whatever they find may be used against you. 

WHAT IF THEY BUST IN ANYWAY?

Kicking in a door without a warrant and without a valid Fourth Amendment exception would not be a great idea. If that happens, the evidence found could be suppressed by the court or your defense attorney could ask that the entire case against you be dismissed. The police would also open themselves up to civil liability, and you could sue the government. Lawsuits like these are brought under 42 USC §1983, a federal statute which allows individuals to sue the government for violations of their civil rights.

In the episode, there was some mention of “exigent circumstances.” If such circumstances existed - a person was in danger or evidence was in danger of being destroyed - then the cops could come in and search. If the search was challenged later, they could try to argue that their warrantless search was necessary later in court. If no exigent circumstances or other exceptions existed, then the evidence would probably be suppressed, bhuhyy G on or kept out of the proceedings.

In any case, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Stay-the-Hell-Out-of-My-Hotel-Unless-You-Have-A-Warrant Unit.

I hope that answers your question, Austin. Thanks for sending!

Got a question? Submit it here. They can be legal what-if questions, questions on current events, or questions about the legality of actions in TV shows or movies you’ve seen. I never ever want to answer your personal legal questions, so don't send those. Love you, but I don’t do that.

***

This piece first appeared in Sunday Morning Hot Tea. Subscribe so you don’t miss another piece.