When you need a warrant?

The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution protects Americans from searches by the government. This means that in the absence of an emergency or statutory exception, a police officer must have a warrant before conducting a search of his person or property.

How does a search warrant was obtained

The Fourth Amendment requires that search be specific and reasonable. This means that a judge will only approve a search warrant, if the law is specific about the elements and the location to search. Law enforcement must also show that there is probable cause that a specific item in a specific location.

If the order is issued or not to review the judge. If a judge finds that the law has met its burden of probable cause and sufficient details are included in the request for the order, the judge will issue the warrant. The suspect is not present during this procedure and not given the opportunity to present their arguments against the issuance of a warrant. However, in later proceedings, the suspect can be argued that a warrant was issued improperly.

When a warrant is not necessary

There are some situations where the law is exempt from obtaining a search warrant. These situations include:

Consent: The police can apply to enter a person's home or record a person's belongings. If the person consents to the search and give law enforcement permission to search after an order is not necessary.

Doctrine view: The police do not need a warrant to obtain evidence that is in sight. For example, if an officer is walking down the street and see someone with drugs in the park then the officer may arrest that person and keep drugs as evidence even though a search warrant was not obtained. This exception exists because individuals have no reasonable expectation of privacy when they are in sight.

Emergency: If the police are chasing a criminal and alleged offender to continue in a home or other private area, then you do not need a warrant to obtain evidence that is visible when entering the building.

For example, a police officer can witness a robbery or an assault and begin to pursue the criminal to make an arrest. If the criminal flees and takes refuge in a private residence after police can follow it and do not need a warrant to enter the house or to collect evidence that is in sight or within reach of the suspect.

The police can also enter a residence without a warrant if they hear someone shouting for help or has reason to believe that a person or property is in imminent danger and that injury would result in the time it would take to get a search warrant.

Search incident arrest: Police officers can search the body and the immediate environment of a person you have in custody. Courts have allowed this exception to the search warrant in order to protect police officers who may have hidden weapons.

Search warrants are a form of government to balance the rights of an individual's Fourth Amendment, the social interest in limiting crime and protect the public. Therefore, the general rule is that a search warrant must be obtained before the police do a search, but there are exceptions to this rule exist to protect police officers and society from harm.