One of the general conditions of parole is that lose most rights against searches and seizures by parole and law enforcement—but you do have some rights. Since this is a very important issue in daily life, this section explains in detail what privacy rights you do and do not have against parole and police searches.
You lose most of your constitutional rights against searches and seizures while you’re on parole. When you are OFF PAROLE, the government and law enforcement cannot unreasonably search you or your property or take things from you; and if they search you illegally, they can’t use what they find as evidence against you in court.[421] But when you are ON PAROLE, you have very few rights when it comes to searches of yourself, your property, or your residence. If you are on parole:
The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld these conditions for people on parole even though the same conditions would violate the constitutional rights of someone who is not on parole or not in custody.[426]
An officer has “probable cause” to search someone on parole, his/her residence, or his/her property when the officer has heightened knowledge that they are at the address where the parolee or the subject of an arrest warrant lives.Motley v. Parks, 432 F.3d 1072, 1079 (9th Cir. 2005) overruled in part by United States v. King, 687 F.3d 1189 (9th Cir. 2012).
If a law enforcement or parole officer knows you’re on parole, then the officer is allowed to assume you can be searched without a warrant, without consent, and without reasonable suspicion or “probable cause” — since this is a general condition that applies to all people on parole.[427] HOWEVER, if officers do not know that you are on parole,[428] or if they do not have “probable cause” to believe that you live in the residence they want to search,[429] then they CANNOT search you, your residence, or your property in ways that go beyond normal rules that protect all citizens
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Silverthrone Lumber Co. v. U.S., 251 U.S. 385 (1920). ↑
CDCR, Notice and Conditions of Parole, http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Regulations/Adult_Operations/docs/NCDR/2014NCR/14-03/CDCR 1515.pdf. ↑
See Samson v. California, 547 U.S. 843 (2006); U.S. v. Lopez (9th Cir. 2007) 474 F.3d 1208. ↑
People v. Schmitz, 55 Cal. 4th 909 (2012). ↑
People v. Hunter, 140 Cal. App. 4th 1147, 1152-53 (2006). ↑
See U.S. v. Grandberry, 730 F. 3d 968, 975 (9th Cir. 2013); Samson v. California, 547 U.S. 843 (2006). ↑
People v. Middleton, 131 Cal. App. 4th 732, 738-39 (2005). ↑
People v. Sanders, 31 Cal. 4th 318 (2003). ↑
Motley v. Parks, 432 F.3d 1072, 1080 (9th Cir. 2005). ↑
Yes. When the officer knows or has probable cause to believe you are on parole, there is just one rule limiting his or her power to search you. The rule is that “searches must be no more intrusive than necessary for a legitimate interest in parole supervision.”[430]
Courts have understood this to mean that parole searches must be “reasonable” — meaning they cannot take place too often, be at unreasonable times of day or night, be unreasonably long, or be conducted in an “arbitrary or capricious” (random or reckless) manner.[431] Searches cannot be motivated by the officer’s dislike of you, nor can they be used in ways that don’t serve legitimate law enforcement purposes (for example, they can’t be used to harass or embarrass you).[432]
When conducting a parole search of your house, law enforcement officers must give you notice of their authority and purpose for the search before they enter your house.[433]
Cal. Penal Code § 3067(d); People v. Williams, 3 Cal. App. 4th 1100 (1992); see also U.S. v. King, 687 F.3d 1189 (2012). ↑
People v. Reyes, 19 Cal. 4th 743, 753-754 (1998). ↑
People v. Clower, 16 Cal. App. 4th 1737, 1741 (1993); see also U.S. v. Follette, 282 F. Supp. 10, 13 (S.D.N.Y. 1968). ↑
People v. Constancio, 42 Cal. App. 3d 533 (1974); see also Parsley v. Superior Court, 9 Cal. 3d 934, 938. ↑
When law enforcement officers conduct an unlawful search, a person on parole has very few legal remedies. First off, it is very rare for a court to find that a parole search was “unreasonable.” Note that even if a court finds that a parole search was “unreasonable” and therefore unlawful, evidence found through that search can still be used against you at a parole revocation hearing.[434]
If you believe that officers unlawfully searched you or your property, you should tell the attorney who is representing you. At a parole revocation hearing, you and your attorney should be notified of evidence used against you (see PG. 188 for information on parole revocation hearings).
BUT… In order to search you or your property, an officer must know or have a reason to know that you are on parole or some other type of supervision. Courts have said that a search may be illegal if the parole officer didn’t know, or didn’t have reason to know, that the person being searched was on parole. However, any items that are taken (seized) during the search may still be used as evidence against you in a later court proceeding or in a revocation hearing. Still, a search or seizure cannot be more intrusive than reasonably necessary. If you believe you were illegal searched —tell your lawyer, contact a public defender’s office, or call Root & Rebound’s Reentry Legal Hotline at 510-279-4662 (Fridays, 9 am – 5 pm PST).