ABSTRACT
Law enforcement officers may be required to execute search warrants in order to obtain evidence. Subjects of an investigation will usually keep some inculpatory evidence in their possession, at either their residence or business premises. A search warrant authorizes limited intrusion into an area where there is reasonable expectation of privacy to search and seize certain specified evidence of a crime based on probable cause. A judge or magistrate is usually willing to issue a search warrant when information is provided by a reliable source. Fraud examiners can be used as a reliable source when they uncover evidence that other financial records are available at some identified location. Generally, evidence obtained by a defective search warrant is no longer suppressed if the law enforcement officers relied upon those defective warrants and acted in good faith. However, search warrants may cause many motions to be filed, which can tie up a case. Also, they can trigger Fourth Amendment considerations such as staleness, overbreadth, and other issues.
The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, adopted in 1791, states, “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.”
