united-states search-and-seizure
Does the renter/owner of the home have to be present for a search warrant?
<p>Does a home owner or renter on the lease have to be present when police come with a warrant to search the home?</p>

<p><strong>Of course not</strong>. If the owner/tenant needed to be home I could rent a house in my name, and then never occupy it (my associates live there) the cops could never enter.</p>

<p>Wilson v. Arkansas, 514 U.S. 927 (1995) - Cops executing a warrant need to knock. If no one answers they must wait a reasonable time for an occupant to let them in. It's the knock and announce rule. By implication it might lend authority to what is an obvious answer.</p>
