Question
Paper Details
One day, while Officer Careful is sitting behind his desk, he gets a phone call from a person identifying himself as Snitch, who tells the officer, "Trust me, Batman and Robin are planning to start a huge narcotics smuggling ring. They've already imported more than 100 kilos of cocaine and are planning to slowly put them on the street through Drugger, using one of their erstwhile adversaries."
Officer Careful asks "How do you know this?" Snitch responds, "I saw them unloading the shipment into the Batcave last night." Snitch then says "I gotta go" and hangs up. Officer careful eventually tracks down Snitch, who turns out to be named Lloyd Williams. Lloyd claims that he is extremely nervous about being identified as the snitch and so he will NOT sign any affidavits. However, he is willing to be quoted by Careful as long as he is not identified in any court documents.
Please write a letter advising Careful on how to go about obtaining a search warrant to allow him to search for Batman's narcotics. Will the fact that Careful has no firsthand knowledge prevent him from getting a proper warrant? Why or why not? Also, please explain to him as specifically as possible what his affidavit should say and what the search warrant must say.
You do NOT have to write an IRAC-style for this assignment. However, you should use applicable rules and/or cases to help the reader understand how and why you came to the advice that you gave.
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Subject | Law and governance | Pages | 3 | Style | APA |
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Answer
Constitutional law and criminal
It is important to have wise knowledge of the legal requirements associated with obtaining a search warrant. This in return will prevent any suppression of evidence while effectively supporting the constitutional rights of citizens and maintaining public confidence in any agency’s mandate to carry out the function of the police in an ethical and legal manner. A search warrant therefore is a written order, in the name of the people, which is signed by a magistrate or other judicial authority, directing an officer to search for specified personal property and bring it before the magistrate. In this case, there is legal basis for seeking a warrant because based on the source, there is probable cause to believe that specific contraband, a hundred kilos of cocaine, may be found at Batman and Robins place. Reliability of the informant and information provided should also be specified particularly when confidential informants such as Snitch are used.
First, an affidavit, which is a document supporting application for a search warrant should be prepared on the designated agency form. This should be done accurately to ensure the validity of the search warrant. The affidavit should contain the following key points;
Describe the offence precisely with reference to the criminal code section. Describe the specific place to be searched with reference to physical description of Batman and Robin’s premises, their full names, geographical location of his property including map coordinates and photographs.
Specify the scope of the search because only the things described in the search warrant can be seized. Lastly specify the time and method of search. Note that a search warrant may be served at any time of the day or night as long as the warrant provides a reasonable cause and permission is granted in the warrant.
A neutral judge or magistrate should then be sought and convinced of the probable cause to search for and seize the contraband before he issues the search warrant.
References
Beneman, D., Elm, D. “Criminal Justice.” Winter2015, Vol. 29 Issue 4, p8-11, 4p. American Bar Association. Cauthen, J. “Executing Search Warrants in the cloud.” FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. Octo2014. Daly, Y. “International Journal of Evidence & Proof.” 2013, vol. 17 issue 1, p114-122. 9p.
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