When you're placed on probation for a criminal case, it's important to understand that the probation department has the authority to conduct home searches as part of their monitoring.  This is more common in felony cases  , and less so in misdemeanors, except in certain counties like Ventura. It's a serious matter that shouldn't be taken lightly.

The way that it works is that the probation department can come to your home.  They'll typically bring the police with them.  They'll come in and search your home, making sure that you're abiding by the terms and conditions of your probation, number one.  And number two, they're going to make sure that you're not doing anything illegal in your home.

Allowing a probationer into your home, especially if it's your own, can have serious consequences. It's not uncommon for individuals to find themselves in a predicament after such an act, leading to significant forfeiture of rights. This is a risk that should be carefully considered.

They know they're on probation, and what they end up doing is that the police come in and conduct a search. They discover some criminal activity unrelated to the probationer. Still, they find some criminal activity related to someone else who is nice enough to let the person into their home.

The next thing you know, a good Samaritan has been arrested and charged with a crime, and then they're asking, ' Wait a minute, why am I being charged with a crime? '  I'm not on probation.  Why should they be able to search my home?

Well, because they can.  If you're going to let someone who's on probation stay in your home, you run the risk that some of your stuff might get searched, and you might end up getting arrested.  What if the probationer hides a gun in your room, and it's an assault rifle?  Now, you're in a position where they're going to charge you potentially with the possession of that assault rifle, in my example.

Search for Your Car and Person

So, probation can come.  They can search.  It's a situation that should be taken seriously because when you get yourself put on probation, and if there are terms in there that they're allowed to come to search your home, that really causes you to give up a lot of your rights and puts you in a difficult position as far as your Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures.  Often, they can even search your car.  They can search your person.

So, you want to avoid being on probation if possible, and if you are on probation, then being allowed to search your home really puts you in a good position.  It puts you in a position where not only do you give up your rights, but you also put yourself in a scenario where the probation department can potentially file charges against you that you may not deserve.

So, if the probation department in Los Angeles County has searched your home, car, and person and found some sort of criminal activity. You're charged; you need to get to a criminal defense attorney immediately.  Make no statements.

Don't do anything else to get yourself in trouble, and let that attorney start to figure out what can be done to help you.  Maybe there still is a search and seizure issue even if you were on probation when they searched your home.  Perhaps they exceeded the scope of their search, and even if they found something in a home, they may not be able to pin it on you because it's someone else's property.

But these people who are on felony probation and live in a home where there's a gun are just asking to be arrested and charged with a new felony and go to state prison.  Because even though the gun may not be yours, if the gun's in the home, there's an argument that you have constructed possession of the gun, and therefore, not only have you violated probation, but you've violated a law because anybody who has a felony conviction can never own, use or possess a gun in California.

There are countless examples of these probation searches yielding significant information for the police and prosecutors when they shouldn't be allowed to do so. Still, because you put yourself in that position, you end up in a bad situation.

So, if you do end up getting put on probation and you're concerned about getting in trouble, it's crucial to talk to your defense attorney about that.  Get a plan together so you don't even put yourself in the position to be re-arrested, charged, violate your probation, and end up getting your freedom taken away. This proactive approach can help you stay informed and empowered in your legal situation.