3.20Purpose and Function of a Search Warrant

A search warrant gives the police authority to search a specified place, person, or thing as well as the authority to seize specified property. See, e.g., People v Davis, 442 Mich 1, 9-10 (1993). “Searches conducted without a warrant are per se unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment, ‘subject only to a few specifically established and well-delineated exceptions.’” Id., quoting Horton v California, 496 US 128, 133, n 4 (1990) (additional quotation marks omitted).¹

For a summary of the search warrant process, see the Michigan Judicial Institute’s checklist describing the process for issuing a search warrant and the checklist describing the process for electronically issuing a search warrant.