What is a search warrant?
Submitted by Steve Silverman on Fri, 02/27/2009 - 15:31
A search warrant is a court order issued by a judge that authorizes police to conduct a search of a person or location for criminal evidence, which may be seized and used in court.
To obtain a search warrant under the 4th Amendment's requirements, police officers must write out an affidavit -- a written statement under oath -- to convince a judge 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.
