A search warrant can allow officers to look through your possessions and find evidence that can be used against you. If a search turns up something serious, like drugs, then you could end up facing serious charges and the possibility of prison time. Not every warrant is created equal though. Mistakes can be made when these documents are drafted, and that can give a Des Moines criminal defense lawyer a chance to challenge its validity.
What Allows You to Challenge the Validity of a Warrant?
You cannot just challenge the validity of a warrant by saying you would prefer not to get searched. We would all like to keep our privacy, but that’s not really a good reason to say that the search warrant was invalid.
Instead, you have to look for errors in how the warrant was drafted or used. Some common issues include:
Scope: If a warrant said that your garage could be searched, but cops searched the rest of your home to find evidence, the scope of the warrant was exceeded.
Lies: Cops who lie about the circumstances of a case can secure a warrant and use it to find evidence. Showing that they lied can call the validity of a warrant into question.
Factual errors: A warrant needs to be accurate. If it contains wrong information, like the wrong address, that can be used to challenge it.
Unreliable sources: The cops cannot get a warrant simply because someone said that you committed a crime. They have to rely on more than that. Getting a warrant on hearsay or tips from anonymous sources is generally not going to hold up.
What Happens if the Validity of the Warrant is Successfully Challenged?
When the validity of the warrant is challenged, the judge could end up throwing it out entirely. If a search warrant gets thrown out for being invalid, do you know what happens to the evidence gathered with it? That has to be thrown out as well. Because the search was illegal, the evidence found is “fruit of the poisonous tree.” The prosecution cannot use it!
This can sometimes make it difficult to continue pursuing a case against a defendant. If you are charged with drug crimes and the primary evidence against you is a large quantity of drugs found at your residence, that evidence getting thrown out can make it hard for any charges to stick. This can encourage the prosecution to drop charges entirely or offer a more favorable plea deal.
Talk to a Criminal Defense Lawyer
Challenging the validity of a search warrant can be tough on your own. If you are facing criminal charges due to a bad search, contact Herting Law, PLLC. We will do our best to help you defend yourself and avoid the harshest possible penalties.
