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Search and seizure laws are based on the fundamental protections provided by the fourth amendment of the United States Constitution. The fourth amendment expressly states that: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and 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.”
Search and seizure laws are intended to protect the privacy of citizens while facilitating reasonable and proper search and seizure in pursuance of criminal justice and public protection. Search and seizure laws and their legal interpretations provide a complex and intricate set of circumstances under which a search and seizure is determined lawful.
In many cases search and seizure laws require police to obtain a search warrant prior to conducting a search and seizure in accordance with good faith protocol. A search warrant is granted by a judge after s/he hears probable cause which justifies a search and seizure. Probable cause is not defined expressly in the fourth amendment; therefore judicial interpretation determines what justifies probable cause.
Under search and seizure laws, probable cause is usually provided though affidavits. Affidavits are reliable written statements obtained under oath from police or citizens that provide pertinent information. An affidavit is considered reliable when it comes from an informant with a history of reliable information, one implicates themselves in the crime, one with partially verified information, or one who is a victim or witness to a crime.
Search and seizure laws allow the search of expressly authorized persons, places, and things at expressly states times. It is generally a violation of search and seizure laws to extend beyond the scope of a search warrant unless it is to ensure safety, prevent the destruction of evidence, to discover more about evidence or contraband (illegal tangibles), or when these things are in plain view during a search.
Search and seizure laws protect citizens from intrusions of privacy without proper authorization. Privacy is established when a person has the expectation of privacy in a given context and that expectation is deemed reasonable to society. Evidence or contraband that is obtained or learned of in a context where privacy is not breeched does not violate search and seizure laws.
There are a variety of circumstances under which persons are not protected by search and seizure laws. A search and seizure is valid and legal in the following cases: the subject agrees to a search, the search accompanies an arrest, the search is necessary to protect the public and prevent the destruction of evidence, and during a hot pursuit. When search and seizure laws are violated, the tangibles and evidence seized are not admissible in a criminal court of law. Search and seizure laws are intricate and complex. There are exceptions and other formalities which can alter the nature of a search and seizure case.
To learn more about search and seizure laws, you may wish to contact an attorney.