Pubdate: Sun, 13 Sep 2015
Source: Chico Enterprise-Record (CA)
Copyright: 2015 Chico Enterprise-Record
Contact:  http://www.chicoer.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/861
Note: Letters from newspaper's circulation area receive publishing priority
Author: Garry Cooper

UNREASONABLE SEARCHES IN COUNTY COULD GET WORSE

You all need to be aware that the absolute worst mass violation of 
our civil rights in the recent history of our country is now taking 
place in Butte County.

The law enforcement community, in conspiracy with the supervisors, 
judges and the building department, have begun a process of misusing 
what they call "inspection warrants" in lieu of search warrants to 
virtually gut the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution, which 
protects us from "unreasonable" searches by police officers and 
allows our homes to be the private sanctuaries that we all deserve as free men.

The police and building code enforcement, who have now teamed up as 
one operational unit, decide they want to search/inspect a property 
for violations of Measure A. Even though no reporting party knows of 
an actual violation, that property is then searched using the 
"inspection warrant" process that works like this:

The officer, who is also the reporting party, goes to a property and 
demands to be let in to search. Upon permission being denied by the 
landowner, a judge issues the "inspection warrant," as that denial is 
all that is required to obtain an "inspection" warrant. The property 
is then searched, sometimes at gunpoint.

Historically, inspection warrants were tolerated because they were 
seldom used and only for construction matters by the building 
department. Now they are being used by the thousands, illegally 
substituting for legally obtained search warrants.

Perhaps inspecting your guns and tax records are next. Let this abuse 
go and it will expand.

- - Garry Cooper, Durham
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom