How to Use This Manual
The purpose of this manual is to assist police officers and prosecutors in understanding the warrant requirement and its exceptions and providing guidance in (1) writing an affidavit that establishes probable cause for the issuance of a search warrant, (2) preparing for or defending the execution of a search warrant, and (3) conducting and defending a warrantless search or arrest.
The manual is divided into three chapters, and each chapter section is divided into several sections in which specific kinds of searches and seizures are addressed. For example, the first chapter, “Search Warrant Affidavits” is divided into six sections. The first section, “Requirements for All Affidavits,” describes the information that must be included in every search warrant affidavit. The remaining five sections describe the information required in a search warrant affidavit based on the source of the information provided in the affidavit, such as confidential informants and anonymous informants. Chapter Two, “Executing a Search Warrant,” is divided into three sections: (1) Meeting the Knock and Announce Requirement, (2) Detaining and Searching People in the Premises to be Searched, and (3) Seizing Items Found in Plain View. Chapter Three, “Warrantless Searches and Seizures,” addresses various situations in which a search or seizure may occur without a warrant. It is divided into six sections: (1) Consent to Stop and Search, (2) Stopping a Person or Vehicle, (3) Searching a Person, (4) Searching a Vehicle, (5) Searching a Place, and (6) Making an Arrest.
Each section is divided into three parts. First, each section contains an outline, which may be used as a checklist of requirements for a valid search or seizure. The outlines are intended to provide a quick reference for the officer or prosecutor to determine (1) whether there is enough information to support a search warrant, (2) what procedures to follow in executing a warrant, and (3) whether an exception to the warrant requirement applies.
Next, each section contains a summary. Each summary is intended to be an explanation of the requirements included in the outline, as well as a resource for prosecutors in preparing arguments and memoranda in response to motions to suppress.
Finally, each section includes a set of endnotes, which are the citations to the case law on which the summaries are based. The endnotes do not contain an exhaustive list of cases supporting the principles stated in the summaries. However, the cases included in the endnotes 2 are the most prominent cases. Like the summaries, the endnotes are intended to assist prosecutors in defending against motions to suppress. Because each case is different, and the outcome of a motion to suppress depends on the facts of each case, the cases cited in the endnotes should be considered a starting point, not the ending point, of the prosecutor’s argument.