Here is a guest post from a registered citizen of Nebraska. We are respecting this individual's request to remain anonymous.
Had enough yet? Had enough of the warrantless home invasions
by law enforcement? If you are like me, then you are downright sick and tired
of the harassment. It turns out that despite the fact that these visits qualify
as a 4th Amendment-busting search of person and property, and
despite the fact that these so-called compliance checks have been deemed
unconstitutional by a Federal District Court in Minnesota which, like Nebraska,
is within the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, they simply don’t care,
and it seems we are living in a jackboot police state (at least in Nebraska).
What will it take for the warrantless home invasions to cease? I don’t have the
answer. But as a victim of such visits I have decided to take proactive
measures which I believe protect myself as well as possibly thwart the
frequency of visits in the future; I
would like to share this with all other registrants. I’m not suggesting these
tips will work for everyone, nor do I encourage everyone to follow them. I am simply
offering alternative legal measures registrants and their families could take
to further protect themselves and possibly lessen the frequency of home
invasive visits. These methods have not all been “tried and true” and I do not
offer this as legal advice, nor am I a lawyer. The following suggestions apply
to registrants who are no longer on probation or parole.
Suggestion #1: Don’t answer the door. There is no law that
says you have to answer the door!!! Which begs the question, to what lengths
will they go to get an answer? If one does not answer the door, will they mark
you down as “non compliant” and seek out a warrant for your arrest? It wouldn’t
be surprising, what with today’s kangaroo courts and judges rubberstamping
warrants and all. It’s a scary thought that they could potentially arrest a
registrant because he or she was absent during a visit because he or she was at
work. Or will they simply come back the next day, or the day after that,
assuming one continues to not answer the door? And after that, will they
ratchet up the intimidation factor by sending an armed SWAT team in the middle
of the night, waking a registrant and his/her family from rest to see if he/she
answers the door? I don’t know the answers to these questions, but again, one
does not violate any law by NOT answering the door if law enforcement does not
have a warrant.
Suggestion #2: Post signs on your property stating you have
security cameras which monitor your home 24 hours a day. This helps two-fold:
it discourages would-be burglars and vandals AND it is my opinion that officers
will be less likely to conduct a compliance check if they think they will be on
camera. If you don’t own a video recorder of some kind, you can purchase a fake
surveillance camera for your home. Amazon sells both inexpensive signs and some
very realistic looking fake surveillance cameras for around 10 bucks. Despite
the fact that citizens have a legal right to record police, it turns out that
cops don’t seem to like being recoded. When they conduct these compliance
checks, I believe they know they are in the wrong and that what they are doing
is contrary to the constitution and the last thing they want is to be video
recorded violating the same constitution swore oath to protect.
Suggestion #3: If you decide to open the door, you don’t
have to answer their questions, not a single one. You could simply reply to
them “I invoke and refuse to waive my 5th Amendment right to remain
silent. I don’t consent to this contact with you. Please leave.” You don’t have
to be rude, and can resist them in a respectful manner. Remember, they have no
probable cause to be questioning you in the first place. They are the
aggressors in this situation. They are the ones invading your privacy. So I
suggest you remain calm and polite, but insist you do not consent to their
questioning or any searches of you, your family, or any property.
One might ask, “why not just answer their questions so they
can get on their way?” To that I respond: has answering their questions stopped
them from coming back time and time again, only to ask the same redundant
questions? Do they not keep coming
back?? There is something to be said for standing up to a bully. By remaining
silent, you not only exercise your 5th Amendment right but you are
also likely preventing them from gaining a foothold to obtain a search warrant.
Unfortunately, exercising your rights is risky business and
may come at a cost. By following any of the above suggestions, I don’t put it
past them placing anyone on a “problem list” or “non-compliant list” which
could result in further harassment. These are risks you will have to carefully
consider. I can only speak for myself when I say I’m damn sick of the visits
and have decided enough is enough and I’m going to exercise my right to resist.
I have long since paid my debt to society and I’m fed up with the enduring
state-sponsored repunishment.
Knowledge is power. Research and learn your rights and be
prepared to stand up for yourself because they aren’t going to stop coming. Remember,
it was registrants and family members of registrants who exercised their voting
rights and kicked Bruning and Pirsch to the curb. Together, we can overcome
much adversity.