Defective Search Warrant in Gun Cases

If you are being charged with a gun crime based on evidence found while the police were executing a search warrant, the issue of whether your 4th amendment rights were violated should be closely looked at. Three of the leading ways to challenge search warrants are:​

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1. Lack of Probable Cause

Search warrants can only be issued if there is probable cause. If the search warrant was issued, a Judge has already determined that there was probable cause. Which makes search warrants for probable cause particularly challenging because you are essentially asking a Judge to overrule another Judge. Which they do not like to do. However, if you have clear caselaw to show that the probable cause was insufficient you may be in a position to convince a judge that there was not probable cause. For example, the Minnesota Supreme Court has held in one case that a search warrant based on information of a defendant purchasing methamphetamine from six months ago was "stale" information that did not amount to probable cause for a search warrant. State v. Souto, 578 N.W.2d 744 (Minn. 1998). 

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2. False or Misleading Information in the Search Warrant

If the search warrant contained false or misleading information, your challenge to the search warrant is very different from the probable cause challenge. You are not challenging the Judge's decision to grant the search warrant, but saying that the Judge was given false information to base his decision on whether there was probable cause. 

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3. Scope of the search warrant

​Search warrants need to be specific in the scope of the search. If the scope of the search warrant is unlimited, you can potentially challenge the search warrant as being overly broad. A different species of challenge with regard to scope is challenging that the police exceeded the scope of the search warrant in execution of the search warrant. When the police exceed the scope, that will become an unlawful violation of your 4th amendment rights. 

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Each case is different and requires a close analysis of the facts. If you are being charged with a gun crime, you likely do not want a DWI lawyer. You want somebody who focuses on defending gun crimes to craft the best defense for your gun case. Call Subzero Criminal Defense today. 651-248-5142.