Q: Did the police legally search my mancave?
The sheriffs office of the parish I live in in Louisiana searched my man cave which is in the back yard of my grandmothers property. I was arrested earlier that day. My grandmother was alone sleeping in the house. The officer didn’t make his presence known to her. They crawled through the dog door and searched my mancave which is not connected to the house and found various items of drug related evidence. They also intentionally left some drug related evidence stating to leave that for next time. The warrant described the main building only by stating color and trim, and did not mention curtilage or any other outbuildings on the property. They knew I was in custody in another parish and couldn’t destroy evidence. The search was conducted around midnight.
A: This sounds defensible and something you should certainly seek a consult or 2 with criminal defense attorneys in your area. Usually unless exigent circumstances exist, law enforcement usually does not take this action without a warrant. If there is a warrant, then you need to determine whether the search was within the warrant----all reasons to consult with criminal defense attorneys about this----good luck.
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