examination of a person's premises (residence, business or vehicle) by law enforcement
officers looking for evidence of the commission of a crime, and the taking (seizure
and removal) of articles of evidence (such as controlled narcotics, a pistol, counterfeit
bills, a blood-soaked blanket). The basic question is whether the search and seizure
were "unreasonable" under the 4th Amendment to the Constitution (applied to the
states under the 14th Amendment), which provides "The right of people to be secure
in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and
seizures, shall not be violated. " Thus, searches and seizures must be under the
authority of a search warrant or when the officer has solid facts that give him/her
"probable cause" to believe there was evidence of a specific crime on the premises
but no time to get a warrant. Evidence obtained in violation of the Constitution
is not admissible in court, nor is evidence traced through such illegal evidence.
See also fruit of the poisonous tree probable cause search search warrant
law dictionary, legal
dictionary, online law dictionary, legal terms dictionary,
online legal dictionary, legal definition, legal
terms and definition, Best online Dictionary, Law
Dictionary Software, Download Law Dictionary, law
dictionary, legal dictionary, online law dictionary,
legal terms dictionary, online legal dictionary,
legal definition, legal terms and definition, Best
online Dictionary, Law Dictionary Software, Download
Law Dictionary
