Search Warrant Affidavit: Fill & Download for Free

Search Warrants 101The no-knock search warrant is a by-product of our decades-old, and mostly failed, war on drugs. Dealers could and did get rid of their drugs quickly by flushing them down the toilet. Secondly, drug dealers had guns to protect their business. Those without guns were robbed and were soon out of business.Standing at a door and knocking and announcing loudly "Police Search Warrant," and then waiting for someone to come to the door is the way a search warrant is supposed to be executed. However, during the five or more seconds after the police announce their intentions, it gives the residents enough time to arm themselves or to destroy the evidence the police are seeking.The police needed a quicker way to enter and surprize the dealers who then didn't have any time to flush the drugs or to draw their weapons, and the no-knock clause was born. The three advantages police use are known as the three-S's, Superior Manpower, Superior firepower, and Surprise.A no-knock warrant is just like a knock and announce warrant except for allowing the officers serving the warrant authorization to enter without knocking and announcing. On the search warrant, it is usually a box that has to be checked and separately authorized by the issuing judge. The big difference is in the affidavit. Search warrants and affidavits to get search warrants are two separate documents.The search warrant is the result of the affidavit. The search warrant describes the specific location to be searched, identifies who the targets of the investigation are, what is to being searched for, and what types of evidence are can be seized.The affidavit is a summary of the investigation. This is the document that convinces a judge that probable cause exists for the issuance of the warrant. It will document controlled buys or undercover buys, surveillance, and anything else that investigating officers learned, leading them to believe that illegal activity or contraband is located at the target location.In a separate part of the affidavit, the investigating officer must make a case for a no-knock warrant. The two reasons most frequently used are the likelihood of the destruction of evidence and the likelihood of the police being injured by an armed resident.The officer should have specific information that one or both of these events are likely to occur.If the target has prior weapons charges, that can help establish a heightened risk. If the informant said that they saw the dealer with a gun, that also helps. If the target were previously charged with destruction of evidence, this would also be included. If the target has prior charges of assault or resisting arrest or any violent acts, this can also be included. The point is that the officer has to base the request for the no-knock on some facts. If I had a strong case, I would go for the no-knock clause and get it. However, I never used it.First, put yourself in the judge's shoes. The last thing a judge wants to do is deny a no-knock authorization, only to learn later an officer got injured or killed as a result.Every time I requested a no-knock warrant, I got it. So why ask for the no-knock and then not use it, you may ask? Unless you have executed a lot of high-risk search warrants, it hard to understand. But there is this fear of the unknown. When you go to the door, what awaits on the other side of that door is completely unknown and unpredictable.Let's say you go up on the porch and approach the door, and you hear a voice on the inside, say, "Cops! grab my gun." Are you going to knock, announce and stand by, or are you going to crash the door and hope not to get shot?I will say the five-second wait time was probably more like two or three seconds. But when I entered, and I usually was first through the door, I continued to yell "Police Search Warrant" over and over and over. I'm pretty sure the neighbors could hear my loud yells. I didn't want to get shot by mistake, so I made sure everyone knew we were the police.As for the time of day, I have executed warrants at all hours of the day and night. There is something to be said for sneaking up under cover of darkness, but that's not the deciding factor. Before a search warrant is executed, the investigating officer will or should be conducting surveillance to ensure that drugs are being sold. In some cases, an informant will be sent in for a last-minute controlled buy, to make sure the drugs are there. Never think that all warrants are executed in the early morning hours because that's wrong.Executing search warrants is extremely dangerous work. During about five hundred search warrants, I've had guns pointed at me twice during warrant executions and not gotten shot. My secret both times was mostly dumb luck.I believe both types of warrants are equally dangerous. With a knock and announce warrant, you allow the dealer time to arm themselves and take cover. With the no-knock warrant, the dynamic entry may cause a panicked resident to shoot in defense of their home. This is the dilemma officers face executing search warrants.

If you're served with a search warrant, can you insist on reading it over (to check for errors that might invalidate it) before allowing the officers into the place to be searched?No.You have to be provided with a copy of the warrant at some point, but the warrant is valid on its face. Any errors, either on the warrant itself or in the affidavit in support of the warrant (which you won’t see until discovery takes place), will be addressed during litigation. The only possible exception would be if the police have served the warrant at the wrong house, which happens occasionally because someone made a mistake. Mistakes include typographic errors, errors in descriptions of buildings, taking an address of a mailbox which may not be in front of the house it’s related to (happens in rural areas where all mailboxes may be on the same side of the street), etc. Most errors are in good faith; a few are the result of laziness.WAR STORY ALERT:Back in the late ‘90s, we were serving a series of search warrants in the Seattle-Snohomish County area. One of the teams was to execute a warrant at a semi-rural house kind of out in the boondocks. A local deputy sheriff, during the briefing, said he knew exactly which house it was. The team pulled into the driveway in several cars with the deputy in the lead. He jumped out and headed for the house on the right of the common driveway. The rest of the team followed him and were halfway through the house before anyone could communicate that the description of the property matched the house on the left. As they say, “Oops!”

Absent true exigent circumstances, I'm in favor of requiring a search warrant. If there is a genuine, legitimate investigative interest, a judge should grant the warrant. Cops tend to look for exceptions to the search warrant requirement that are often legally shaky. The culture dictates that applying for a search warrant is a huge deal and should be reserved for major cases. In fact, writing a search warrant affidavit is an acquired skill that any peace officer should have and should exercise often.When I'm talking on my phone, using apps, surfing the web, whatever, I'm acting with a reasonable expectation of privacy. I don't think that activity should be available to anyone unless there is a legitimate suspicion that I'm up to something criminal. There is too much potential for abuse without the safeguards that a search warrant requirement provides. Judicial review is a proper control on police powers.