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Using an Invalid Search Warrant to Break into Private Property Is Illegal

March 21, 2008 |   By a Falun Dafa practitioner in China

(Clearwisdom.net)

During an experience-sharing session, a fellow practitioner talked about her experience two years ago. One day, four to five police officers appeared at her home and attempted to conduct a search. The practitioner blocked the entrance and protested strongly, "Why? I do not steal or rob people, and I have done nothing in breach of the law. Why do you think you can search my home?" Officers pushed her aside and said, "We are carrying out an order from higher authorities." The practitioner replied, "That is not good enough. Are you acting according to procedures? Do you have a search warrant?" The police replied, "Yes." They then took out a search warrant and threw it on a bed.

The practitioner picked up the search warrant and tore it up. The police were very angry and said, "How dare you tear up the search warrant! You are in breach of the law and preventing us from carrying out official business. This is enough to arrest and detain you." The practitioner was not aware about whether tearing up the search warrant violated the law, but from a practitioner's point of view, she understood that she should not cooperate with any request, order, or command from evildoers, whatever the situation. The police then took her and her husband, who was not a practitioner, to the police station. She refused to cooperate for several hours, and eventually, when it got dark, both of them were allowed to go home.

The next morning, the practitioner went to a solicitor for legal advice. She said, "I am a Falun Gong practitioner. That is my belief, to be a good person according to 'Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance.' I've done nothing wrong. In society, first I am a citizen; a citizen should have citizen's rights and should be protected. Then under what circumstances can the police search my home?" The solicitor took out some documents and showed her a search warrant. He then listed the requirements of a search warrant: 1. The search warrant must have a signature of the director general of the city public security bureau. 2. The search warrant must have a signature of the head of the police station in the area of jurisdiction. 3. The search warrant must list suspected or confirmed criminal acts. 4. The police must be accompanied by the director or member of the community residents' committee. 5. All confiscated goods must be listed, checked ,and signed by a member of the community residents' committee.

The practitioner asked, "Did I break the law by tearing up the search warrant? Is the police station authorized to detain me?" The solicitor asked, "Did the search warrant you tore up conform to the listed requirements?" The practitioner recalled, "It was only a blank search warrant, with no writing on it. It only had a red seal at the bottom right hand corner." The solicitor replied, "The search warrant you ripped up did not conform to legal specifications, so it was invalid. It was the same as you tearing up a piece of plain paper, and there was no criminal behavior on your part."

The practitioner explained what had happened to the solicitor, and showed him the bruises on her arms from the policemen dragging her. The solicitor said, "As a matter of fact, these policemen have violated the law. They entered a private residence without a permit, and they also caused physical injury. " The practitioner said, "You don't know how belligerent the policemen were yesterday. They insisted that I violated the law, and they wanted to take me to the public security bureau." The solicitor laughed, "The police now are just a bunch of illiterates and hoodlums."

When the practitioner left the solicitor's office, she went straight to the police station and found several of the officers who had entered her home without a warrant. She told them that she had consulted a solicitor and that their acts were indeed in violation of the law. They turned silent and looked away. The practitioner told them of the consultation with the solicitor, and said, "Remember, Falun Dafa is good; if I did not practice 'Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance,' it would be you who would go to jail. Dafa teaches people to be compassionate and think about others. Do not do things that will harm others and yourself anymore." The practitioner then went home in an open and honorable manner.

Some practitioners have not dealt with the police who enter their private property without warrants in a righteous way. They do not negate the evil and eliminate it; they still feel helpless and accept it. As a result, some areas have not been able to have Fa study groups and material production sites, and it has severely affected the improvement of the one body and the saving of sentient beings. We need to share the experiences of those that have done well and are able to maintain group Fa study and frequent experience-sharing. Once we create a good environment at home, we will be able to catch up with the progress of Teacher's Fa-rectification, and invest all our strength in clarifying the truth and saving sentient beings. We can't just say we listen to Teacher; we must put it into action. Let's work hard together to be qualified Dafa practitioners.