A Sacramento Criminal Defense Attorney on Warrants and Searches

The good faith exception has made it very difficult to challenge searches. The exception allows evidence to be admitted at trial even if police violated a person’s privacy rights in obtaining it, as long as authorities were acting in good faith at the time. However, a Sacramento criminal defense lawyer can explain that some courts are willing to find such searches so deficient they can’t be reasonably relied on or that police went beyond the scope of the warrant. Also, many state courts don’t follow the good faith doctrine.

Any warrant should specifically outline the way the evidence relates to the crime so it avoids a general search. A Sacramento criminal defense attorney can explain that a search warrant affidavit must establish probable cause that the person being investigated committed a crime.

The warrant is deemed overly broad if it authorizes a search for things that lack a probable cause. In one case, a court ruled a warrant authorizing the seizure of every file in an insurance fraud investigation of a doctor was too broad. The court further found all evidence seized from the lacking warrant should have been suppressed.

It has become common practice for prosecutors to request warrants for the seizure of computers in all investigations. But, since defendants often don’t plan violent crimes on their computers, defense attorneys can challenge the warrants as overly broad. Courts also have become suspicious of warrants where authorities attempt to name their experiences and expectations as ways to make connections between a crime and evidence they are seeking in an affidavit. Some criminal defense attorneys may consider talking to an investigator or retired officer to determine whether those statements have any basis.

Despite the good faith exemption, attorneys can challenge warrants that are overly broad. If you have legal questions related to a warrant, call Sacramento criminal defense lawyer Param Pabla at (916) 285-7900.