Can a police officer enter an apartment, which minors live in, if they see a open, empty beer bottle?

My roommates and I threw a party last weekend. The police in came, but we did not let them in. They came the next day at 3. I opened the door, but did not let them in. They asked if they could talk inside. I said no, lets talk out here. They said they had a loud noise citations for us. They asked for our ids. My room mate went and got his. I waited for him to get back. Then I went and got mine. During that time, the police officers saw a opened,empty beer bottle. Immediately, they said "they have to come in". They came in without hesitance. Of course, they saw more liquor in the kitchen when they came in. They would not have seen this if they did not come in. Was this legal?

Welcome to the TDCAA Bulletin Boards. The discussions in these user forums are for the benefit of prosecutors and their staff members, although we welcome relevant and appropriate input from other members of the criminal justice and government lawyer community. These forums are NOT a source of legal advice for citizens. Call the State Bar of Texas (1-800-204-2222) for information on seeking legal advice.

[This message was edited by JB on 01-24-08 at .]

I didn't confess to anything that the law doesn't already know about.

I like the emo user name.

Welcome to the TDCAA Bulletin Boards. The discussions in these user forums are for the benefit of prosecutors and their staff members, although we welcome relevant and appropriate input from other members of the criminal justice and government lawyer community. These forums are NOT a source of legal advice for citizens. Call the State Bar of Texas (1-800-204-2222) for information on seeking legal advice.