You’re live on YouTube. I’m just going to set this up live. Yep, mostly. Hi, YouTube! I’m talking to you.
Hi, YouTube. I’m Katie. This is Jennifer. We’re going to get started shortly, just getting everything else in order. Happy Friday. We’re not very good at improv. Yeah. No. Usually, John is here to kind of push everybody along. All right. And five minutes. Okay.
Happy Friday, everyone, Facebook and YouTube. Welcome to Disclosure Live with the Brandy Austin Law Firm. I’m Katie Ginn, and here with me I have Jeff. Hello. It is June 29th, and today’s episode we’re going to discuss search warrants and privacy law. What can and can’t happen to you, and what are your rights? But first…
We shall cover a few fun things and a couple local news stories. Jennifer? So first up, it’s National Camera Day. It’s observed every year on June 29th, and this day commemorates photographs, the camera, and their invention. And, you know, the camera is kind of an irreplaceable tool used to record and replicate moments with your families, got kids, etc.
Which I feel like it’s kind of dwindled down to just phones because phones have really good cameras. I can’t remember the last time I purchased an actual camera. I don’t either. I have no idea what my camera is. Unless it’s like a professional camera that you’re using for like other things. I don’t take that to places with me. That’s probably the last time I’ve seen a camera. Yeah. But it’s National Camera Day. I guess the cameras on your phone still count. So much. Yeah.
On the other hand, it is National Waffle Iron Day. Waffle lovers finally have their day of recognition on June 29th, which is National Waffle Iron Day, the day that it’s observed. Some people enjoy their waffles plain with syrup, but we like ours topped with berries, whipped cream, and syrup. I don’t like that.
I don’t know, other people may. It sounds really fancy and pretty. However, I’ll just take some butter and syrup. So who knew a simple machine would make such a big impact on lives everywhere? Waffle irons got their start in the 14th century. Did not know that. Even the earliest designs that were used over an open fire would have elaborate designs such as coats of arms…
And religious symbols. The first patent in the U.S. for a waffle iron was in 1869, submitted by Cornelius Swarthout. In 1911, General Electric produced a prototype electric waffle iron. The first electric waffle iron was available to the general public in 1918, and it’s been great ever since. So let’s tackle some local news real quick.
Well, throughout Facebook Live, we’ve been discussing the Texas Live project for several months now, but we’re actually coming close to the grand opening. Texas Live is, as everyone knows, when they’re driving down Interstate 30 toward Dallas, or to Fort Worth, I guess, whichever way you’re going, it’s the $250 million entertainment district backed by the Texas Rangers, the Cordish Companies, and the City of Arlington.
So that’s actually opening on August 9th through the 12th in the Arlington Entertainment District. So I think that’s going to be something fun. That center is 200,000 square feet. I had no idea it was that big. Yes. It will include dining, entertainment, and next year the first Live! by Loews Hotel. And the center will also be home to a 5,000-capacity outdoor event pavilion, Arlington Backyard.
And so I think it’s going to be something, it’s going to bring a lot of commerce and business into Arlington. Hopefully so. It sounds like a great place for families as well. Yeah, and they also have a 14-story, 302-room Live! by Loews Hotel Arlington. It’ll include a 35,000-square-foot great event center, so probably a lot of weddings. Wow. Yeah.
And a lot of national recording artists, excuse me, in Dallas-Fort Worth, made of Toadies, is set to perform on the Arlington Backyard Stage August 9th. That is something I wouldn’t see. Yeah. And, you know, something to keep in mind with, you know, families. And I think they’re trying to make this, you know…
Kind of something for both, but it will also include a concert featuring the national recording artists Bleachers and Joywave in the Arlington Backyard, but you’re going to have to be 21 or over to attend that concert. Sorry, Shawnee. Ticket information can be found at the TickFly website, and the celebration will continue throughout the weekend with live music, entertainment, events, and activities for the entire community. So, um…
Everybody, just remember Fourth of July is coming up. There are plenty of events across North Texas for everyone to enjoy. I have just a couple for Fourth in Arlington to mention, but you can always go online and you’ll find hundreds of events all over DFW, citywide and whatnot. Fourth, Texas Motor Speedway Friday Night Drags Fireworks at 10 p.m.
Is that tonight? Tonight. Because today is Friday. So that is tonight at 10 p.m., Texas Motor Speedway. July 2nd. Ooh, this one sounds fun. The Fort Worth Botanical Gardens Concerts in the Garden, which is very fun to go to. Personally, I have been. Starts at 8:15. Fireworks show after the concert. Tickets are required, but I believe that after the intermission, it’s free entry and free parking.
I think so. I’m not sure. You’ll have to check the website, but I think that is true. Arlington, Light Up Arlington fun starts at 6 p.m. tonight. Fireworks start at 9:45. There will be a simulcast… simulcast. Never read that word before. Let me go.
On 95.9 The Ranch. Admission is free. For more information, just visit lightuparlington.com. So, what we came here for, today’s topic. You know, I think everyone really values privacy, and it’s something we all want, and we believe we deserve, and I think that people, you know, really think it’s important that, you know, you get permission before you invade that privacy and step over certain boundaries. And I think that’s…
And, you know, I think as the criminal lawyer here at the Brandy Austin Law Firm, it’s important to know when the law comes to protect you, what they need to do to uphold your rights, and that you know your rights and how to keep yourself protected. I feel like a lot of people these days maybe feel like privacy is becoming more and more of a joke. Just people feel…
Like they can’t really deny anything or, you know, something like that. And so we’re just going to cover that. I think we should probably start with the basics just to have a better understanding of privacy in the U.S. What are some policies that you can think of that would protect my right to privacy?
Well, I mean, I think the biggest one is the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution. And that, you know, a lot of people misinterpret that one. It’s actually your right against unreasonable searches and seizures. So it’s not against all of them. It’s unreasonable. And that’s where the warrant requirements come in with, you know, you see it on TV all the time. “Well, do you have a warrant?” That’s where that’s protected, because they’ve actually gone to a judge and asked if…
The judge thinks they have probable cause to enter your premises, your car, anything like that. And if the judge signs off on it and they have a warrant, it still could be a violation of your Fourth Amendment, but it’s probably less likely to be.
So we may skip around just a little bit, but let’s say that you are in your car or in your home and an officer comes to the door and they request to come in or they request for you to open the door. Do you have to do that? Do you have to request to open the door or do you have to let them in? Either or.
You know, houses and cars are such different… You have three big areas with searches and stops, and it’s person, home, and vehicles. With a vehicle, typically, you know, you’re being detained on probably a routine traffic stop. And, you know, we’re not talking about the actual constitutionality of the stop itself or, you know, when I look at a case, it’s two things. You know, you check if it was a good stop and you check if it was a good search. And so…
My best advice is if you are pulled over, whether it’s you think you weren’t speeding, you know, be polite to the officer. But at the end of the day, you’re going to need to roll down the window. He has the right to question you. You’re driving. I strongly advise the answer be no. Because once you consent…
You can’t challenge them because you’ve allowed them. Now the same goes for your home. If they not strongly advise, the answer would be no, because once you consent, you can’t challenge… or you open it and they’ve identified themselves as police officers and they can, “Can we come in and take a look around?” If you say yes, you’ve basically made their jobs a lot easier where they don’t have to go get a warrant. They don’t have to have probable cause. If you open the door and they don’t ask to come in, but just…
Make their way in, is that okay? Can they do that? Oh, sure. Yeah. Obviously, anyone can do anything. I mean, they can go in. Where this comes into play is if, let’s say, they do make their way in, they find drugs, they find firearms, they find something along those lines. When you challenge it in court that it was an unreasonable search or seizure, we have this wonderful thing called fruit of the poison tree. And since it was a bad search…
Everything that they discovered in the search is thrown out. So if they can’t have your drugs in the court, do you really have a charge against them? Right. So let’s say that they come to your door, they got a call about you, they come to your door and they ask if they can search and you say no. So from that point, how do they go about obtaining a search warrant? Well, they have to go talk to a judge and they have to have probable cause to enter your home.
And typically when it comes to homes, you know, you have to be pretty specific with what you’re looking for and where you’re looking for it. So a warrant is not just generally, “We’re going to go search Katie’s home.” It has to be what you’re searching for and where you are expecting to find it. And, you know, usually it’s all about reasonableness, and is it reasonable to tear open a couch and…
Dig through all the stuff? And they tell you they’ll be back with a search warrant. How fast can they get that? Well, I really don’t advise waking a judge up at 10 o’clock at night, but hey, you gotta do it. But I think, you know, I don’t know that they would show up without one if they are going to be searching your home.
I think they would go ahead. Typically, what I see is they’ve already got one. And so I would say 24 to 48 hours is not unreasonable. It’s just going and applying for one with the judge. But again, it’s paperwork, and so people don’t like to do paperwork. Let’s say they do have a signed warrant and you are not home. Do they have to serve that warrant to a person before they can do the search, or can they just enter into your home?
They can pretty much enter in, and I had a recent case where they believed someone was there, but they weren’t answering the door, and they broke in. Can you refuse a search warrant? No. I mean, you can, but you’re probably going to end up getting arrested. Right. Yeah, I mean, it’s a signed order by a judge. Right. Interestingly, though…
When it comes to your home, who can consent and who can’t is something that’s an interesting topic because what if you and I live together…
And you said yes, they could search, but I said no, and they searched anyway. Is that a good search or a bad search? Well, it’s actually a bad search because I’ve said no. I have an expectation of privacy in our home that we share. That’s a good point. But a case also stated that if they were to arrest me, put me in the car, and take me downtown, no matter how many times I said no, if you said yes, it’s a good search because I’m not reasonably expected to come back anytime soon to your home. Right.
So if they happen to illegally search your person, your car, or your home, and let’s say they find something that can be considered evidence or what they would consider evidence, can they use that against you?
If it’s a bad search, anything that they found as a result of that is not admissible in court. Okay. And let’s say you happen to be at someone’s house and you didn’t know them well enough to know that they’d eventually be getting searched, and you’re there while the search is going on, even though you have no ownership in the home, you’re literally just wrong place, wrong time. Do they have the right to search your person? Well, now, so…
Searching home, searching person, the same goes for a car. If you’re driving in a car and you’re stopped and they ask to search the car and the driver of the car consents to the search of the vehicle and your bag is in there, they can search your bag and you have no standing to challenge the actual search. But you do have a challenge to challenge the stop because your person was stopped. And similarly with the home, if they’re being searched…
They don’t have a search warrant to search your person. Now, they can do what’s called a Terry frisk if they have reasonable suspicion that you may have weapons on you. They can search for weapons, and then during that search, if they find something in your pocket, that has to be immediately recognizable as drugs or a weapon, then they can pull it out. If it’s not immediately recognizable, they have to ask you what’s in your pocket. If you say, “I don’t know, nothing,” they can’t actually reach into your pocket and pull out whatever is in there. Well, that’s good to know. Good to know.
I think that is all the questions I can think of. Do you have anything to add to it? This is such a broad topic of…
You know, knowing your rights under the Fourth Amendment. And it’s something, you know, if you’re ever in any criminal trouble, it’s something to make sure you hire the right attorney that knows that that’s two things that you should be checking for immediately, especially with a DWI or a drug possession case. And, you know, watch when you give consent because police are not your friends. They want to find you.
It’s their job at the end of the day. Just to touch on what I initially had said, a lot of people feel like privacy is, the lines are becoming more and more gray just because of really the internet and communications have changed from years ago. I feel like a lot of people feel the sense of being watched and that if somebody wanted to know something about them…
Literally, just use the internet. And I would agree. I mean, wiretapping back in the 1920s was a violation of the Fourth Amendment, but after 9/11 and the Patriot Act and the Freedom Acts, it’s a bit more blurry when your phone can be tapped or when your home can be surveilled. So I do agree that it’s getting a little bit more blurry to see when things are good, when things are bad. This area of law changes probably daily when…
All right, well, happy Friday, everybody. That’s our show today, June 29th. We’re so glad you joined us on Disclosure Live with the Brandy Austin Law Firm. Please enjoy your weekend, and we know we won’t see you until the Fourth of July, but remember, please do not drink and drive. Your family, your kiddos, if you don’t have that, your dog at the very least, or your pets are at home waiting for you, so please be sure to show back up. Be safe and have fun. Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel.
And leave us comments and questions, anything else. We will see you next week. I’m Katie Ginn, and I am with Jack and Lo. Happy Friday, and thank you for watching.
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