New center aids special needs students Long - awaited building serves to foster friendship , academic assistance for disabled individuals

Recent busts at off-campus par­ ties and tailgates have prompted many students to question what their rights are regarding interac­ tions with the police — but local lawyers said the answers are not always clear. The “layman’s interpretation” of rights is what gets students into trouble, said South Bend attorney Lyn Leone. Most importantly, she said, students should be aware of their right to silence. “Everyone needs that tattooed on their forehead,” she said. “It’s one of the biggest m istakes my clients make.” Leone said she advocates pru­ dence and advises studen ts to understand tha t police officers show up at off-campus parties or tailgates because they have proba­ ble cause to be there. Probable cause — “the big w ord,” Leone said — is the reasonable belief that a person has committed a crime. “Yes, you can challenge [the police] at your doorstep — howev­ er they have probable cause,” she said. “That’s what you’re fighting at your doorstep. You’re not fight­ ing being guilty. ... The noise ordi­ nance gives police officers the right to be there in response to [noise complaints]." Rudy Monterrosa, a Notre Dame Law School graduate and parttim e public defender in South Bend, said an officer’s right to enter a residence depends on the severity of the crime. “1 would argue that just because [an officer] sees people drinking, I don’t think that gives him a right to go into a house,” he said. In the ab sen ce of p robab le cause , a re s id e n t can say the police are not allowed to enter his or h er hom e, M onterrosa said. The resident can “fight it out in court” as long as there are wit­ nesses present to corroborate his or her claim, he said. “T h a t’s w hat I tell all of my clients,” he said. “You have a rea­ sonable expectation of privacy.” In addition, allowing an officer to enter the residence does not g ra n t him or h er the rig h t to search, M onterrosa said. If the police w ant to search that resi­ dence, they need a w arran t or “exception to that w arran t,” he said. “If the resident says, ‘Yes, you can come in,’ what is within plain view — within his presence — is w hat an officer has the right to cite,” he said. For example, if an officer enters a party and sees “people drinking underage, sees cups, sees beer,” he or she has a right to investigate that further and administer cita­ tions, Monterrosa said. “Police cannot go through an apartm en t for drugs w ithout a warrant,” he said. Monterrosa said a “warrantless intrusion” can occur in four cir­ cumstances: if police are in hot pursuit of a fleeing felon, if police need to prevent the escape of a suspect, if police fear an imminent destruction of evidence or if there is a risk of danger to police or other civilians around the resi­ dence. Police must have probable cause with the last three excep-