They had to have a Writs of assistance, which was issued to british soldiers and officials to search houses if they thought there were smuggled goods.
To search a colonist house a British customs officer presented a writ of assistance. This allowed the officer to enter and search the home.
A writ of assistance
The existing legislation
a writs of assistance
If you are suspected of shoplifting, yes. They usually have an officer present however.
It's the Writs Of Assistance that allowed the British to search homes. =) This was on my History Test!
Police officer with a search warrant can search any home regardless of the situation.
To obtain a search warrant, a law enforcement officer must present evidence to a judge or magistrate showing probable cause that a search is necessary to find evidence of a crime. The judge will review the evidence and, if satisfied, issue the warrant, allowing the officer to search a specific location for the specified evidence.
The present participle is searching.
A writ of assistance is an order instructing law enforcement to perform a certain task. It commonly is used to enforce an order for the possession of lands or property. They were originally authorized by the British Exchequer in 1660 to that customs agents could search for smuggled items.
will search.
An impossible question to speculate on until the officer states his basis for the search in court.