Search Warrant
A court order that gives law enforcement permission to search a specific place for specific evidence of a crime.
A search warrant is a legal document signed by a judge that authorizes law enforcement to search a particular location and seize particular items that may be evidence of a crime. To get a search warrant, the police must present an affidavit to a judge showing probable cause — a reasonable belief that evidence of a crime will be found in the location to be searched.
The warrant must describe the place to be searched and the items to be seized with specificity. Law enforcement generally cannot search areas or take items beyond what the warrant specifies. Under the Minnesota Constitution and the U.S. Constitution, people are protected from unreasonable searches, and evidence obtained without a valid warrant may be excluded from the case.
Why it matters: Search warrants protect your constitutional right to privacy. If police search your home or property without a valid warrant (or without an exception to the warrant requirement), your attorney may be able to get the evidence thrown out of court.
Example: Police suspect stolen electronics are in a particular apartment. They present an affidavit to a judge describing the basis for their belief. The judge issues a search warrant, and the police search the apartment and find the stolen items.
Criminal investigations, police searches of homes or vehicles, drug cases