Criminal procedure
Search Warrant
A search warrant is a judge's authorization to search a specific place for specific evidence, based on a sworn showing of probable cause.
The Fourth Amendment requires particularity: the warrant must describe the place to be searched and the things to be seized, so an open-ended request to look for anything incriminating will not do. Applications are usually filed under seal.
Warrants are litigated after the fact. A defendant who thinks the affidavit was thin or the search exceeded the warrant's scope challenges it with a motion to suppress, which is often the pivotal ruling in a federal criminal case.
Warrant materials also live on separate dockets. They are filed as miscellaneous or magistrate judge matters with their own numbers, so finding the criminal case does not mean you have found the warrant papers behind it.
How it appears on a docket
Search warrant materials commonly appear on a separate miscellaneous docket, such as In re: Search of 1400 Harbor Ave., 1:26-mj-00318, and are unsealed later.
Governing rule
Fed. R. Crim. P. 41; U.S. Const. amend. IV
Related terms
- Motion to Suppress — A motion to suppress asks the court to exclude evidence because it was obtained in violation of the defendant's constitutional rights.
- Sealed Document — A sealed document is a filing the court has ordered kept out of public view, so it appears on the docket but cannot be opened by the public.
More on criminal procedure
See this term in a real case
Search federal court records and read the filings where search warrant actually shows up. New to federal dockets? Start with how to find a federal case.