Fourth Amendment - Criminal Defense & Warrantless Searches

The Fourth Amendment (Amendment IV) to the United States Constitution is the part of the Bill of Rights which guards against unreasonable searches and seizures, along with requiring any warrant to be judicially sanctioned and supported by probable cause. If an unconstitutional search occurs, any evidence seized during the search or derived as a result of the search may be suppressed so that it is not admissible in court. Often, such challenges may result in the dismissal of criminal charges. There are some narrow exceptions to the warrant requirement:

1. Consent Searches

A person may voluntarily agree to a search. In so doing, they waive their Fourth Amendment rights. The search must still be narrowly tailored to the consent given. However, anything found during the search, whether it is the item searched for or not, may be used in a criminal proceeding.

2. Items in Plain View

If there is an item in plain view of an officer that appear to be illegal, the police officer is entitled to conduct a search of that area. There are challenges when the officer's search extends well beyond the area where the item was viewed or crosses into an area controlled by others in a homestead.

3. Search Incident to Arrest

If a person is arrested, authorities are permitted to search that individual. If the person is driving a motor vehicle, the search may extend to that vehicle. The search would not, however, extend to a household where the person was arrested without some other basis for the search.

4. Exigent Circumstances

If a police officer feels that the officer or other bystanders may be in danger, or, if evidence is in danger of being destroyed, it is lawful to conduct a search. In a typical DWI case, exigent circumstances have been used to allow blood or urine samples to be drawn for alcohol testing. Currently, the exigent circumstances exception for such tests requirement is under attack in Minnesota.

5. Probable Cause

If a police officer has reason to believe that a crime has been or is about to be committed, a warrant-less search may be permissible. Of course, the officer's basis for such a search is subject to challenge which, if successful, may resultin the suppression of any evidence acquired.

6. Warrants

Even where a warrant is issued, that warrant is subject to attack if the police officer's affidavit supporting the warrant was faulty.

Moreover, even where a warrant is issued, law enforcement officer's may not extend their search beyond the scope of the warrant. In other words, you cannot search a barn if the warrant only includes a residence as the place to be searched. Similarly, an officer cannot search in a small box if the warrant allows a search for a television or other object that would not fit in such a box.