E-mail us with any questions you may have about Colorado criminal and traffic laws. In most situations the police need either your consent or a search warrant to enter your house. Most police officers will ask your permission to search because it saves them a great deal of hassle in getting a search warrant. The sufficiency of any search warrant can later be tested to see if it was properly attained by the police involved. However, if you consent, any defects in procedure or evidence will probably not help your situation and the search will probably be allowed.
Motor vehicles are a slightly different matter.
Usually the police will be able to search your car if you are being arrested. However, this usually does not include stops for speeding or other minor traffic contacts. If you are stopped or contacted by the police in your vehicle you always have the right to say no you cannot search my car. If the police have the legal right to search it they will do so anyway. If they were wrong anything they found cannot be used in court.