Expert: Dick Rogers - 4/3/2009

Question
Specifically, what kind of evidence is sufficient enough to support a probable cause statement for a search warrant?

Answer
Astasha, it varies somewhat, depending on whether the officer/s are searching for specific items or seeking to get a single item such as DNA or bite impression from a suspect once the officer/s have established probable cause that a crime has been committed and the suspect is involved.  Some times, the word of a trusted and tried informant (not an anonymous informant) can be a basis for the issuance of a search warrant.  When the officer applies to the judge for the order (and this can occur in the middle of the night when the judge sits at his/her kitchen table and reads your affidavit), the judge must be convinced that you have done your homework and haven't brought a series of "hunches" to him/her. Some examples:  At the scene of a shooting, a Dodge truck was seen fleeing.  It struck the front of another car as it was backing up and broke a taillight.  Witnesses described the vehicle (no plate numbers) but that the driver was known to them.  Rather than proceeding to the home of the suspect, the officer/s would most likely get a search warrant to enter the garage of the suspect to inspect the taillight and to enter the house to search for the gun. One from my own experience:  A woman was found murdered.  She had been rolled up in an area rug and dumped in a ravine.  When investigators examined the body, they noted a fern-like piece of foliage stuck to the victim.  One of the officers remembered previously talking with an uncle of the victim about her disappearance and that he had a fern in his living room.  A search warrant was obtained...the plant seized and the crime lab, using a powerful microscope, showed that the piece of foliage came directly from the fern in the uncle's house. It fit perfectly like a jigsaw puzzle.  Hope this answers your question.