Ron,
Thanks for your thoughts. My responses follow...
Dear Starchild;
911 calls are recorded and the telephone number from where the calls came from. The 911 calls are accessible to defense lawyers.
Are you certain that the defense in all cases has access to the full calls, including the number of the caller? Is their access direct, or do they receive the information from the police or prosecutors? Are you sure that the 911 call centers themselves are not ever rolled in as a law enforcement function (i.e. operate under the aegis of the local police department or other law enforcement agency)?
So a vast conspiracy of cops getting people to make false calls per se to gain access is moot.
The concern I raised does not require a "vast conspiracy". It could simply be individual officers or accomplices generating calls or failing to turn over call records, couldn't it? Even if it was proven that a police officer, or someone connected with a police officer, made a call that resulted in someone's home being searched -- and even proving that could be difficult if the call came from a pay phone, disposable phone, etc. -- how would the defense prove it wasn't a legitimate call? There's no law against anyone including cops calling 911 when they "believe" there is an emergency. The caller, if tracked down and subpoenaed as a witness, could simply say, "I heard what I heard," and who would be able to prove he/she was lying?
Currently with the way the police and the courts and prosecutors work along with prisons the likelihood of the cops having to stretch a point to get access is also moot.
To the contrary, even with all the unconstitutional and immoral powers that police "legally" have, they still seem inclined to regularly "stretch a point" in order to get access, justify an arrest, etc. Haven't you heard about such cases?
Sadly SCOTUS has expanded the use of probable cause and reasonable suspicion.
The scenario you paint of get out of jail cards for false 911 calls would implode on itself in no time at all and any guilty verdicts overturned.
*If* a pattern of police or their accomplices making such calls could be shown, that might result in some overturned guilty verdicts. But if not overused, such a practice could easily go undetected. When I was active with the SF Late Night Coalition, it was widely believed that the police would sometimes call about noise from clubs or parties, in order to have justification for going and breaking up the event. These may not necessarily have even been 911 calls, but even non-emergency calls provided enough justification for the police to come onto the premises without invitation, and take action including sometimes confiscating people's sound equipment.
While my sympathy is with the guy he needed to have been more aggressive in telling the police NO you can't enter stay here.
Well yes, obviously.
In San Francisco based on past incidents police here are required to investigate when women are heard screaming in their homes or apartments. San Francisco has a very strict compliance with stalker and keep away court orders. They do need to investigate and clarify.
If the residence about which a call comes in is known to involve a stalker, a stay away order, etc., that changes the equation somewhat -- although even then I'm not comfortable with police officers arbitrarily entering the premises to look around, so long as it's the law that once inside, any evidence they observe of an unrelated crime or "crime" can legally be used against the occupants.
I do know of women who were glad the police did come when a keep away court order was being ignored. I do know of an incident where a woman was the victim of a snatch and grab off the streets and police investigation stopped a brutal gang rape beating and her probable murder.
Assuredly there will occasionally be such cases, just as would-be terrorists occasionally get apprehended by border controls, airport security, etc. This is what makes it difficult for the public to appreciate freedom enough to rein in law enforcement.
Love & Liberty,
((( starchild )))