A search warrant is a judicial order granting permission to law enforcement to search and seize evidence at a specific time and place
Notes:
- The search warrant must be supported by probable cause that a crime has been committed, and the search and the evidence seized supported that probable cause.
- The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution specifies: “…no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized.”
- Evidence seized without legal cause cannot be used in court as evidence against the defendant, nor can the evidence stemming from that illegal search be admitted into evidence.
- The source of illegally seized evidence and all evidence that causally relates to that illegal seizure cannot be used as evidence because of the constitutional doctrine known as “the fruit of the poisonous tree.”
