Can I tell police to wait and call a lawyer when served with a search warrant?
<p>Somewhat influenced by <a href="https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/89862/what-does-a-search-warrant-actually-look-like-how-can-i-recognize-one">this question</a>.</p>
<p>This is hypothetical question. Suppose the police turn up at my door with a search warrant. I know nothing about warrants and couldn't tell apart a search warrant from a supermarket receipt. But I do have a lawyer who knows these things. Can I somehow make the police wait until I call my lawyer, and the lawyer arrives and examines the warrant - before the search proceeds?</p>
<p>Any jurisdiction is fine for this question.</p>
<p><strong>Added:</strong>
Thank you to all those that replied and commented. So, it sounds like (just as I thought), I can ask - and they can ignore.</p>

<p>You cannot legally force police to wait to carry out the search. They can search even if you are not present. In fact, they are required to execute the warrant within a certain time frame, which precludes delaying the execution of the warrant. You can inspect the warrant to see if it is &quot;proper&quot; (has the judges name, correct address, is a search warrant and not a warrant of
removal/deportation...). Calling a lawyer is always wise, but that does not stop the search.</p>

<p>You can certainly call your lawyer when the warrant is served but the police are going to seize the evidence they want to since the warrant is at this stage considered valid.  There are several avenues during various stages of the legal process where the warrant can be contested in courts, since any incriminating evidence will be communicated to the defendant and its admissibility in a trial will be determined prior to a jury ever being empaneled.</p>

<p>Your protection from unauthorized searches is granted through inadmissibilty of evidence not through preventing the search. So if the police show up at your door and only present a supermarket receipt they can still search your apartment. But the 2 pound bag of cocaine found on your living room table will be excluded from evidence because the search was invalid.</p>
<p>Hence from the police perspective showing you an invalid search warrant is a very bad idea because it would invalidate any possible evidence they find. They would be better off not searching your place and not knowing about it because then it still exists in principle and may possibly be found later with a valid search warrant. If they have seen it with an invalid search warrant the evidence is lost legally.</p>

<p>Jurisdiction <a href="/questions/tagged/germany" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;germany&#39;" aria-label="show questions tagged &#39;germany&#39;" rel="tag" aria-labelledby="tag-germany-tooltip-container">germany</a>:</p>
<p>The police does not <strong>have</strong> to wait, but common advise is to call a lawyer or at least a neighbour to act as a witness and <strong>ask</strong> the police to wait.</p>
<p>The common principle of commensurability applies to search warrants as well. So unless there is immediate danger (e.g. of you or someone else making things disappear) they might wait, especially if it's just a few minutes. While no specific law forces them to do so, not waiting a few minutes when it would not hinder them to do so opens them up to legal challenges on those grounds.
Calling a lawyer also gives an opportunity for the lawyer to talk to the police by phone, even if arriving at your place takes time.</p>
<p>Sidenotes:</p>
<ol>
<li>In Germany, there are restrictions on time, the police can't serve a search warrant in the middle of the night, unless they convince a judge of immediate and urgent danger.</li>
<li>German search warrants also have to state <strong>what</strong> is to be searched and seized and again the principle of commensurability prohibits police from searching or seizing other things. That's why lawyers generally advise you to just hand over or show them where to find what they're looking for, which minimizes the mess they'll cause.</li>
<li>Fun fact: If they break your door, or otherwise damage your property, they have to pay for the damage, if it exceeds 25 Euros.</li>
</ol>

<p>Jurisdiction: <a href="/questions/tagged/united-states" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;united-states&#39;" aria-label="show questions tagged &#39;united-states&#39;" rel="tag" aria-labelledby="tag-united-states-tooltip-container">united-states</a></p>
<p>You can ask a police person anything. They are not legally obliged to wait, but yes you can ask them just about anything. As always, it is best just to do whatever the person with the gun tells you to do. Dead people cannot sue</p>
<p>You have a well established constitutional right to film police while on duty. You are also not required to leave the premises while they do the search. It would be prudent to have them explain the exact details of what the warrant entitles them to do and film them while they do it.</p>
<p>As always there are a slew of ways in which a warrant can be invalidated, but none of them can happen when they search your place. You can beat the wrap but not the charge.</p>
<p>Whether what police do is legal or not there is basically nothing you can do to prevent a police person from doing whatever they like. They truly are a law upon themselves.</p>

<p>My understanding is that the police do not have to wait; however, it seems likely that if the police searched your apartment under the auspices of a supermarket receipt, not only would the evidence be inadmissible but you'd have a cause of action for civil damages under Section 1983.</p>

<p>Jurisdiction: <a href="/questions/tagged/russia" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;russia&#39;" aria-label="show questions tagged &#39;russia&#39;" rel="tag" aria-labelledby="tag-russia-tooltip-container">russia</a></p>
<p>A lawyer <strong>can</strong> be present during a search, but does not <strong>have to</strong>, therefore the police are not obliged to wait for one (<a href="https://www.imolin.org/doc/amlid/Russian_Federation_Criminal_Procedure_Code.pdf#page118" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Criminal Procedure Code</a> Article 182).</p>
<p>However, it may well be reasonable not to let the police in even if they are unfriendly and are insisting! Arranging contractors and equipment necessary for breaking into your house might take them much time. Use all of this time to find a lawyer, and open your door at the very moment you hear a hydraulic cutter start! You are unlikely to get any additional charges for that.</p>

search-and-seizure warrant