ABSTRACT
The Fourth Amendment protects a person’s right to be free of unreasonable searches and seizures. A New Jersey court opined that searches and seizures may be lawfully undertaken in many circumstances, and one such circumstance is when the search warrant is obtained from a neutral judicial officer. The final step for the officer in carrying out the orders of the court is to return the warrant, with the results of its execution, to the court or to a designated agency. If officers are to carry out their responsibilities, it is an absolute necessity that they understand the law relating to the seizure of evidence. If an officer is aware of all the technical grounds on which a search and seizure may be validated, he or she can make the determination at the time of the search—not after it has begun.
