Criminal cases stemming from landlords giving police permission to enter their rental properties if police suspect illegal drugs are present wouldn’t fare well in court, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.

Butler City Council is poised to vote at Thursday night’s meeting on a voluntary program in which landlords would place an addendum or add a clause to their leases saying they have the right to allow police to enter if they have reason to believe drugs are on the property.

A search without the tenant’s permission would violate his or her right against unreasonable searches that is guaranteed in the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, said Molly Tack-Hooper, a staff attorney for the ACLU office in Philadelphia.

Evidence collected in such a search would probably be suppressed in court and the tenant could sue the police who conducted the search for violating his or her Fourth Amendment rights, Tack-Hooper said.

“The fact that the landlord owns the property doesn’t matter. Police should know they can’t search based on landlord permission. This is pretty long-standing, clear law,” she said.

In the 1961 case of Chapman v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that police can’t rely on a landlord’s permission to search, she said. That case involved a landlord notifying police that a tenant was operating a distillery.

A landlord’s permission to search even if it is included in a lease, does not provide the authority to conduct a search under the Fourth Amendment, Tack-Hooper said.

“Leases only deal with property rights. It doesn’t change the contours of the Constitution and what the government can’t do,” Tack-Hooper said.

As an example, she said, if a landlord sees marijuana plants being grown in a rental property and calls the police, the police should get a warrant before searching the property.

“Police can get a warrant based on observation, not suspicion. The police would almost certainly get a warrant,” Tack-Hooper said.

She said the policy Butler City Council is considering would be a terrible one.

Tim Fennell, who leads the Butler County Drug Task Force, said he wants to see a legal review of the proposal.

“We’re waiting for a legal opinion on the use of that type of entry. If legal we’d use it. Any tool we can use is a benefit,” Fennell said.

He said some landlords work with law enforcement. “We have landlords that come to us and we have landlords that ignore us,” Fennell said.

City Councilman Jeff Smith, who proposed the policy, said he developed it after talking to landlord Brian Helfer.

He said the city has a sample addendum landlords can attach to their leases, but they can write their own if they wish.

Landlords who agree to participate will be asked to submit a form to the city that includes the names of their tenants.

“I think most landlords are supportive of getting rid of the drugs,” Smith said.

Helfer said he opposes illegal drugs and would like to see them and drug dealers removed from the city, but he doesn’t support the proposed policy.

“I won’t sign something that releases control of my property. I’m not going to allow the government to come onto my property,” Helfer said. He said it was akin to socialism.

He said he suggested to Smith that the city do something to make it easier for landlords to evict tenants for not paying rent or damaging property.

“I suggested to Jeff that if he is trying to help landlords with illegal activities that he should work with landlords to give them more ammunition for leases that works through the magistrate’s office for evictions,” Helfer said.

Jeff Weber, another landlord with rentals in the city, said he supports the policy, but wants to learn more about it.

“I don’t have a problem signing those forms and allowing police to enter my property,” Weber said.

He said his 18-page leases address illegal activity. A clause in his leases says the lease ends if a tenant or guest is found with illegal drugs or are participating in other illegal activity, he said.

“I’ve had to evict people for drug activity. I’ve gotten rid of people that have sold drugs out of my units,” Weber said.

Conversely, he said he has received calls from his tenants reporting drug activity near his property and he reports that information to police.