The Fourth Amendment protects Americans from unreasonable searches and arrests. A search warrant in the criminal justice system is issued to law enforcement officers upon a conviction that an arrest or a search is necessary to collect evidence. The search warrant is based on a probable cause, which is the standard that the criminal justice system uses as a reason to offer an arrest or search warrant to the police. Although the police could violate the law by obtaining the warrant without a probable cause, Detective M.L.’s application for the search warrant was valid.
Detective M.L. acted within the law and fulfilled the probable cause requirement in applying for a search warrant. The law enforcement officer acted upon evidence from an informant that a suspect was packaging a huge heroin consignment. The same informant had offered similar information to the detective, which led to arrests and convictions. Therefore, the detective had the grounds to believe the informant and act on the information. The officer had reasonable persuasion that the suspect packaged drugs for sale; hence, the warrant to search was valid. Legally, under the Aguilar–Spinelli test, even hearsay information can provide the probable cause if it is from a reliable informant (Roberson & Wallace, 2016). In this case, the informant had offered reliable information in the past. The probable cause was later supported by the evidence of heroin, marijuana, scales, and money found in Doogie Dealer’s residence. Overall, the application of a search warrant by Detective M.L. met the probable cause requirement.
The probable cause is an essential condition to enhance the Fourth Amendment protections. In Detective M.L.’s case, the search warrant was supported by probable cause. Therefore, law enforcement officers should have a convincing reason to believe that a crime is committed in order to obtain a search warrant.
Reference
Roberson, C.& Wallace, H. (2016). Procedures in the Justice System, 11th Ed. New Jersey, NY: Prentice-Hall.
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