Search and Seizure

A legal power given to law enforcement officers to examine and confiscate evidence believed to be related to a crime, regulated by the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The power is limited based on the extent of the suspect's reasonable expectation of privacy in a given situation. To search a home, law enforcement officers must demonstrate probable cause that a crime has been committed, to obtain a search warrant from a judge. Alternately, the police are not required to obtain a warrant if the property owner consents to the search. In contrast, law enforcement need only demonstrate reasonable suspicion to search a person on a street. There is no standard of proof required to search garbage at the curb as trash, as there is no reasonable expectation of privacy. Evidence in an officer's plain view can also be seized without a warrant. When an illegal search and seizure is performed, the “exclusionary rule” states that the evidence may not be used against the suspect at trial.