LE searches..more good info

[bigkarch]

I dont mean to keep shoving this down your throats but here is more good info about searches...please read and learn....

Search Warrants: What They Are & When They Are Necessary

Learn when police officers must obtain a warrant before they search your home or other property.

A search warrant is an order signed by a judge that authorizes police officers to search for specific objects or materials at a definite location at a specified time. For example, a warrant may authorize the search of "the premises at 11359 Happy Glade Avenue between the hours of 8 A.M. to 6 P.M.," and direct the police to search for and seize "cash, betting slips, record books and every other means used in connection with placing bets on horses."

Police officers obtain warrants by convincing a judge or magistrate that they have "probable cause" to believe that criminal activity is occurring at the place to be searched or that evidence of a crime may be found there. Usually, the police provide the judge or magistrate with information in the form of written statements under oath, called "affidavits," which report either their own observations or those of private citizens or police undercover informants. In many areas, a judicial officer is available 24 hours a day to issue warrants. If the magistrate believes that the affidavit establishes probable cause to conduct a search, he or she will issue a warrant. The suspect, who may be connected with the place to be searched, is not present when the warrant issues and therefore cannot contest the issue of probable cause at that time. However, the suspect can later challenge the validity of the warrant before trial.

What Is Probable Cause?

The Fourth Amendment doesn't define "probable cause." Its meaning remains fuzzy. What is clear is that after 200 years of court interpretations, the affidavits submitted by police officers to judges have to identify objectively suspicious activities rather than simply recite the officer's subjective beliefs. The affidavits also have to establish more than a "suspicion" that criminal activity is afoot, but do not have to show "proof beyond a reasonable doubt."

The information in the affidavit need not be in a form that would make it admissible at trial. However, the circumstances set forth in the affidavit as a whole should demonstrate the reliability of the information. In general, when deciding whether to issue a search warrant, a judicial officer will likely consider information in an affidavit reliable if it comes from any of these sources:

a confidential police informant whose past reliability has been established or who has firsthand knowledge of illegal goings-on
an informant who implicates herself as well as the suspect
an informant whose information appears to be correct after at least partial verification by the police
a victim of a crime related to the search
a witness to the crime related to the search, or
another police officer.
Sometimes the police provide mistaken information in the affidavit and the judge or magistrate issues a warrant under circumstances that, given the true state of affairs, would not justify a search under the Fourth Amendment. The question then arises as to whether the search itself is legal. In most situations the search will be upheld if the police acted in good faith when seeking the warrant (that is, they didn't know about the mistakes in the affidavit). The reasoning here is that:

it makes no sense to condemn the results of a search when police officers have done everything reasonable to comply with Fourth Amendment requirements, and
the purpose of the rule excluding the results of an invalid search as evidence is to curb the police, not a judge, and that if a judge makes a mistake it should not be grounds to exclude evidence.
What Police Can Search for and Seize Under a Warrant

The police can search only the place described in a warrant, and usually can seize only the property that the warrant describes. The police cannot search a house if the warrant specifies the backyard, nor can they search for weapons if the warrant specifies marijuana plants. However, this does not mean that police officers can seize only those items listed in the warrant. If, in the course of their search, police officers come across contraband or evidence of a crime that is not listed in the warrant, they can lawfully seize the unlisted items.
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[headhunter1]

Awsome info, cleared up a few questions for me.

[Pezboy]

Informative. Good post.

[headhunter1]

If LE had a warrent can they automaticly bring in dogs? Say they get a warrent for AS can they bring in a dog even though the dog cannot detect AS?

[bigkarch]

there are no dogs that search for aas...but...to answer your question..a LE (narcotic) dog can be lawfully in the same place any officer has the right to be...just think of them as a police officer..