To execute a search warrant, an officer may break open any door or window of a house, any part of a house or anything therein if after notice of his authority and purpose he is refused admittance.
Ala. Code § 15-5-9
Authority of Serving Officer to Break into House.
Applied in 3 court decisions — leading case 452 So. 2d 909 - McClellan v. State (1984)
Most recently applied in 931 F. Supp. 1556 - United States v. Wallace (July 1996)
(Code 1852, §834; Code 1867, §4385; Code 1876, §4014; Code 1886, §4735; Code 1896, §5492; Code 1907, §7765; Code 1923, §5479; Code 1940, T. 15, §108.)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Official source: Alabama Legislature (ALISON). Reproduced from public-domain Alabama statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.