How to know if a warrant is valid?

[grean]

What does a warrant look like? How can you tell if it's real? Is there a way to validate it?

Could or do police ever claim to have a warrant and present something they say is a warrant but is not a real warrant?

It is my understanding, or very well could be my MISunderstanding, that warrants are not free for alls for the police. Rather they normally have a limited scope.

Are the limits of a warrant clearly explained so a person without a legal degree could understand so they could at least tell the police that what the police are doing falls outside the scope of the warrant? Or at least they can tell their lawyer that the police found what ever evidence in a place not authorized to be searched by the warrant?

Does any of that matter? If police show up and say "we have a warrant ", should you just bend over and grab your socks?

[ShysterJon]

Rather than just asking a bunch of questions, why don't you tell us, concisely and factually, WTF happened?

btw, there are different types of warrants. I assume you're asking about a SEARCH warrant.

[grean]

Nothing happened. I just realized that if for any reason I answered the door and a police officer was holding a warrant, I'd be clueless as to what to do other than stay out of their way and STFU.

I'm assuming that it would be a search warrant. If it were an arrest warrant, pretty sure I answer the door and get cuffed, right?

[ShysterJon]

Jeez Louise...

Let me get this straight. You got up yesterday, had your morning coffee, and started thinking, What if a cop showed up right now with a search warrant? How would I know it's real?

To my knowledge, cops don't go around executing phony search warrants. The dead giveaway is a search warrant has "SEARCH WARRANT" on it.

Did you see something on TV? Do you understand TV isn't real? The people on TV are actors, playing out a story.

If your morning coffee is interrupted by John Law's knock on your door, and John has a search warrant, you can verify it's real by calling your local police department. With a telephone. Speak into the phone. In English. The phone must be plugged in.

[Lincoln.F.Stern]

It is my understanding that the warrant will spell out its scope of the search. and I assume it would be prudent to record badge numbers of the cops serving it.

It would also be a good idea to A) keep quiet if you have something to hide or B) if you don't ask polite questions like "why am I being searched?" It might be because you are friends of someone they are looking for.

And always consult a lawyer asap about it.

[ShysterJon]

Originally Posted by Lincoln.F.Stern

It would also be a good idea to keep quiet if you have something to hide.

Don't "keep quiet if you have something to hide" -- keep quiet PERIOD. END OF STORY. NOTHING MORE.

Originally Posted by Lincoln.F.Stern

It might be because you are friends of someone they are looking for.

Huh? Search warrants are issued upon a showing of probable cause that a crime has been committed. Being friends with someone the cops "are looking for" isn't probable cause.