law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules Rule or ruling may refer to: Education ...

, a knock and talk is an investigative technique where one or more police officers approaches a private residence, knocks on the door, and requests consent from the owner to search the residence. This strategy is often utilised when criminal activity is suspected, but there is not sufficient evidence to obtain a

search warrant A search warrant is a court order that a magistrate or judge issues to authorize law enforcement officers to conduct a search of a person, location, or vehicle for evidence of a crime and to confiscate any evidence they find. In most countries, ...

In the United States

The legality of the knock and talk procedure has been carefully scrutinized and reviewed by American courts at the state and federal level. Rulings in both the

Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...

case ''United States v. Cormier'' and

Seventh Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (in case citations, 7th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the courts in the following districts: * Central District of Illinois * Northern District of Ill ...

case ''United States v. Jerez'' have held that evidence obtained from a consensual search following a knock and talk is admissible, but only if the knock and talk is not conducted in a coercive or aggressive manner. Per '' Bumper v. North Carolina'', the use of deception to obtain consent can also in some cases prevent the search from being upheld. Per '' Kentucky v. King'', when a police officer who is not armed with a search warrant knocks on a door and requests the opportunity to speak, the occupant has no obligation to open the door or to speak.https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/216733/kentucky-v-king/

References

{{Law Criminal investigation Legal doctrines and principles