Theyre conducting a warrantless search in order to collect evidence to get search a warrant. Just dont see how this washes in court.
I found the neutral 3rd party thing a laugh. Sure, the judge is (or should be neutral) but what happens when the police lie to him in order to get the warrant? Seems to me the police have a real problem with lying b/c they just know the party being investigated is guilty. The problem is there’s almost no accountability in these cases. Its a slap on the wrist (if that) and its all ahead full as tho nothing happened.
If an ordinary person did this he would be arrested. Suppose a normal person cuts someone’s internet access and poses as a repair technician, and comes in your place an secretly films your place? Illegal. No different for the police. They do not have the right to break the law to enforce the law.