Search Warrants/the legal technicalities
rovacs, 10 Sep 2006 12:27:09
The "Your rights" site is a good easy to understand guide to the law as it relates to individuals. This section linked below is interesting,as it confirms what I thought-there must be very good grounds if search warrants are issued to the police for entry to homes. It would seem unless there is other evidence they have strong enough to arrest on-but are seeking the evidence by trying to enter the premises,that probably can't be done legally without a warrant in a matter such as this. They can only search without a warrant here with the individuals written consent. Bashing down doors of people who have protested against this law are not good grounds for example! If no warrant is there it is not legal,if the grounds for issuing the warrant were inadequate this is a serious matter as well. So anyone caught up in this idiotic law in the future must check police have a valid warrant and look at the grounds of evidence presented to justify the issue of any warrant they have. The European Convention now additionally comes into this matter markedly,making the observation of correct procedures by the police an even more critical matter for how they conduct themselves over this. I believe a recent case in the ECHR has found the police guilty of malpractice in this area and and at least one officer is on the carpet over it. Even in the doubtful event of prosecutable material being discovered, I would think lack of a warrant or an unjustified warrant would throw a spanner into a prosecution as the evidence was improperly obtained.
As I have mentioned before,it would seem any action by police in pursuit of people under this law could bring an immediate appeal by an individual(or a group of people)that their rights were being abused under HR guarantees-the police being the first in line abusers. This is before any conviction,let alone trial.
Such technicalities are so important-we can see that in relation to the Coutts business. The Appeal is granted because of legal technicalities over how the trial was conducted-and the ignoring of the technicalities may have prevented the jury reaching a correct verdict in his case.
I am not a lawyer,but what I have written here seems the situation. Others may correct me!
http://www.yourrights.org.uk/your-rights/chapters/the-rights-of-suspects/police-powers-to-search-premises/index.shtml
*** This message has been edited by rovacs on 10 Sep 2006 12:54:53 ***