Justia Lawyer Rating
badge - California DUI Lawyers Association
badge - California Public Defenders Association
badge - Sacramento County Bar Association
badge - The State Bar of California
badge - United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

Rules for a Consent Search

Your Sacramento criminal defense attorney will tell you that based on what police say, consent is readily given by individuals to search their apartments, vehicles, and bags. Because a defendant waives his or her Fourth Amendment rights when giving consent, the police are absolved from having to prove they have grounds for a search.

A defendant may waive Fourth Amendment rights unintentionally or without knowing that he or she has a right to withhold consent. Even so, your Sacramento criminal defense attorney will advise you that the burden lies with the prosecution to prove the defendant actually waived his or her rights in the totality of the circumstances.

Some of the circumstances identified as relevant by the courts are as follows:

  • The attitude exhibited by the defendant regarding the likelihood that contraband may be discovered.
  • The type of questioning that may be involved and the amount of time detention may last, as well as possible police coercion and physical punishment.
  • The defendant’s awareness of his or her constitutional right to deny consent.
  • The education, intelligence, age and language ability of the defendant.
  • The defendant’s level of cooperation with the police.

Consent is invalidated if the police falsely represent the existence of a warrant. However, the courts consider consent to be voluntary if the defendant grants it when the police say they will obtain a warrant if he or she denies consent.

Third Party Consent

Your Sacramento criminal defense attorney will want you to be aware that third parties may give consent for a search of property or premises that pertains to the defendant as long as they hold some authority over the property and the defendant is absent. The consent is no longer valid if the defendant is present and specifically denies consent.

Contact Us

If you have been charged with a criminal offense and would like to speak with a Sacramento criminal defense attorney about your case, please contact Param Pabla by calling (916) 285-7900.

Client Reviews
★★★★★
“Mr. Pabla represented me with my DUI case. He has excellent communication skills and always kept me informed. Mr. Pabla made sure I understood the process and my rights. He eased my mind through a very stressful situation. I highly recommend Mr. Pabla.” Gurpreet
★★★★★
“I am so happy with the service that I received from Param S. Pabla. Jarrett did a great job solving my legal issue and I can’t recommend him enough! He was able to do everything quickly, painlessly, and was ALWAYS available to talk when I needed him. If I ever need help again, I will definitely use him!" Boris
★★★★★
“Param was excellent in my court case of failure to stop at a stop sign. The officer could not see clearly because he was too far away. The officer insisted he could and said he had video but could not produce it at the trial. The officer then asked if he could suspend the trial to go get the video but the judge said he should have had plenty of time to get the video ready beforehand. Needless to say, the judge ruled in my favor and dismissed the case which enraged the officer. Pabla Param’s defense and cross examination skills were excellent and paramount in having the case dismissed. Highly recommended.” T.C.
★★★★★
“My husband and I needed to update everything -family trust, will, medical stuff. Param was really patient -answering all my questions -even when I asked them twice. He wanted to be sure I understood everything we were doing. All docs were sent to us so we could go through them on our own time before anything was finalized. I also liked when we were looking at medical stuff that he had a conversation with me about what I wanted and pointed out some things I didn’t think of.” Debbie