Are there any other limitations on parole searches?

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]

  1. 430

    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). ↑

  2. 431

    People v. Reyes, 19 Cal. 4th 743, 753-754 (1998). ↑

  3. 432

    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). ↑

  4. 433

    People v. Constancio, 42 Cal. App. 3d 533 (1974); see also Parsley v. Superior Court, 9 Cal. 3d 934, 938. ↑