East Jordan, MI asked in Constitutional Law and Criminal Law for Michigan

Q: Can a police officer go into a residence to do a wellness check and search while he is in there for drugs??

The person in charge of said residence told him he did not have permission

1 Lawyer Answer

A: Your question is heavily fact-dependent. How and what was the police officer searching? What was the basis for a wellness check? Regardless, cops don't need to ignore things then in the open. For example, there would be no impermissible search required for the police to arrest someone when they see a crack pipe in plain view on the coffee table; if they found drugs hidden in a ceiling panel, that's a different issue and analysis.

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