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Marijuana: If the cops knock on my apartment door do I have to answer it?

Area5150

New member
I don't grow marijuana but I have some friends who like to smoke it. If the cops come do my apartment door do I have to answer to their knock or can I just wait for them to go away?

Here's the hypothetical I'm wondering about:

>a lot of marijuana is being smoked in my apartment by several people

>i live in an enclosed building on the fourth floor. The scent of marijuana seeps out from under my door and out into the enclosed hallway. The scent is strong. The scent is noticeable to anyone who happens to be in the hallway of my building. You would smell it and if not that person would be brain dead, it's so noticeable

>the apartment manager smells it. The apartment manager calls the police. The police arrive. The apartment manager greets the police. The manager gives the cops a 'lead'. She tells them that the smell of smoked marijuana is probrably coming from my unit. The cops proceed to investigate. They come to the front door of my unit and stand inches away from my apartment door. Though impossible to ascertain with absolute certainty (there are many other units on the same floor), they determine that the smell of marijuana is most likely, in their opinion, coming from my apartment. They can hear our voices through the door, and maybe hear the sound of music, too. The music is not loud, it is not impacting other tenants, it's at medium volume, but still discernible to anyone who gets up close to my door. It's apparent to them that someone is inside my apartment

>The cops knock on my door. They say, "POLICE! OPEN UP!" I don't open the door, I don't answer the door. I sit tight. I have a camcorder attached to a tripod. I place it facing the door. I turn my camcorder on to record the moment. Thinking that if they ever come inside my apartment they'll 'accidentally' knock the camcorder to the floor, I reach for my little digital voice recorder. I turn it on. I place it out of sight, out of mind. The police continue to knock and knock hard over and over again. Their patience wears out and they yell that they won't leave until someone opens the door. They continue to pound away on the door with their nightsticks. The sound of the pounding frays our nerves but we decide to sit tight, to not answer the door, and instead we cross our fingers and wait for them to hopefully go away

Question: Does the law dictate that I have to open the door to talk to the police when they come knocking in a scenario like this? I live in California. I am not on probation. I have no criminal record that relates to drug activity. I have no warrants out for my arrest.
 
no you dont have to answer...if they have a warrent thwey will come in...if they dont they wil leave and your ok
 
HAYEZ said:
no you dont have to answer...if they have a warrent thwey will come in...if they dont they wil leave and your ok

They'll come with a warrant if they need to enter, don't worry.
 
Area5150 said:
How would the cops manufacture a warrant when I'm not wanted for anything? Is that a magic trick?
a search warrant bro
 
if you open your door, they will smell it (or say they smelled it) and then have probable cause to enter your place. you = SOL

i would advise you to go to a window next to the door and ask what they want. if they say they want to speak to you, tell them you have nothing to say and will not talk to them without a lawyer.

if they say they have a warrant, show them your hands and tell them to break the door down. sounds retarded? maybe...but all they need to get probable cause is for you to open your door.
 
im not familiar with the ins and outs of usa law, but could they not just kick his door in saying they thought by the smell he may have been growing it?
 
*The_West* said:
im not familiar with the ins and outs of usa law, but could they not just kick his door in saying they thought by the smell he may have been growing it?

they would have a hard time proving that in court.

secondly, if i was him, i would rather have my door get kicked in than knowingly and willingly open myself up to arrest for opening my door.
 
p0ink said:
if you open your door, they will smell it (or say they smelled it) and then have probable cause to enter your place. you = SOL
i would advise you to go to a window next to the door and ask what they want. if they say they want to speak to you, tell them you have nothing to say and will not talk to them without a lawyer.

if they say they have a warrant, show them your hands and tell them to break the door down. sounds retarded? maybe...but all they need to get probable cause is for you to open your door.

One smell of da hash and they have cause to smash your door down and take you to jail.
 
hurricane187 said:
a search warrant bro

With a little but not a lot of confidence I say that it would take a considerable amount of time for them to aquire a search warrant. Like maybe a few hours. Would the cops stand around at someones apartment door for several hours, with a cop car or two waiting outside for two hours or more just because they smell marijuana? I am not on probation, I have no drug arrests or convictions and I have no warrant out for my arrest. I live in California.

Then again: would a California judge sign a warrant as such?
 
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