Terms
Search Warrant
A search warrant is a judge signed order that permits the police to search for specific items at a specific place at a specific time. Typically, a search warrant is ordered to search people and private property in order to seize suspected contraband and/or criminal evidence. The fourth amendment of the constitution addresses the issue of search warrant rights and was designed to protect the rights of private citizens from unlawful search and seizure. As a result of fourth amendment legal interpretations, the laws governing search warrant requirements are constantly in flux. Search warrant laws indicate when a warrant is and is not required to search a person or property, how a search warrant is obtained, and the process by which a lawful search is conducted.
A search warrant is typically necessary when it intrudes on a person's privacy or private property. A place or person is considered private when that privacy is reasonably expected and socially acceptable. A search warrant is required in any situation where artificial or high-tech search methods would otherwise be employed to gain the information sought. A search warrant gives the police the right to search a particular place, at a particular time, for particular items as approved by a judge. In the following cases police may extend a search beyond the terms of a warrant: to ensure safety, to prevent the destruction of evidence, to discover more about obtained evidence, and when contraband or evidence is in plain view.
There are a number of circumstances where it is not necessary for police to obtain a search warrant. No search warrant is necessary when the owner of a property grants police permission to search a space. Cars that have been stopped lawfully can be searched without a search warrant with proper cause. A search warrant is not necessary when a search accompanies an arrest, when the search is carried out necessarily to protect the public or prevent eminent destruction of evidence, or during hot pursuit of a criminal.
When a search warrant is required to search a property, the police must present the judge with probable cause for the search in question. Probable cause is established in numerous ways. When the judge deems a search warrant appropriate, they will validate the search of a specific place, at a certain time, for certain items. As long as the police act in good faith in the supervening search, the evidence and contraband seized will be held admissible in a court of law.
When the police fail to act in good faith or in compliance with search warrant terms, any resulting evidence will not be held admissible in a court of law, as established by the federal "exclusionary rule" doctrine. The federal "fruit of the poisonous tree" doctrine states that when an illegal search produces evidence that leads to other evidence, all evidence obtained is inadmissible. There are situations where unlawfully obtained evidence may still be held admissible in a court of law.
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