What is a search warrant in Florida?
Answer: So a search warrant is different than an arrest warrant because a search warrant, they typically see this in drug cases or cases where the police are trying to gather evidence or they have some knowledge that you’re conducting some sort of criminal activity. So what they will do is they will go to a judge in the county in which the case is pending, and they want to search your house hypothetically. So they say, “Judge, we have information to believe that the individuals involved in a series of burglaries and TVs that are being stolen are held at XYZ on 123 Main Street.” They say, “Judge, this is all the evidence that we have. We would like to go in there and search the house because we have a confidential informant or we have first-hand knowledge that there are stolen TVs in there.” So they go to the judge. The judge looks at all the facts of the case, he says, “Yes, I have probable cause” or the officer says, “Yes, I swear and affirm that I have probable cause to believe that’s what’s going on inside the residence.” The next thing you know, the judge signs a search warrant so that the police can go in and search for the stolen TVs to recover them and then ultimately charge the person with whatever crime it is that they think they committed.
