Bare Bones Affidavit

A “bare bones” affidavit is one that fails to provide information that would give a neutral and detached magistrate a basis for believing that there is probable cause for a search warrant. The U.S. Supreme Court repeatedly has emphasized that bare bones affidavits do not comport with the Fourth Amendment. Such affidavits contain only conclusionary allegations and lack sufficient information about the reliability of an informant, how an informant garnered knowledge of contraband, or other germane information.

In United States v. Leon (1984), the Court created the good faith exception to the exclusionary rule, sometimes sanctioning the approval of law enforcement conduct with respect to a warrant that is determined to be lacking in probable cause. However, in Leon, the Court reiterated that the good faith exception would not apply in cases of bare bones affidavits. The Court explained: “Nothing in our opinion suggests, for example, that an officer could obtain a warrant on the basis of a ‘bare bones’ affidavit and then rely on colleagues who are ignorant of the circumstances under which the warrant was obtained.”

In suppression motions, defendants often contend that the warrant authorizing a search of their premises was such a bare bones affidavit.