Requisites For Issuing A Search Warrant
Section 4. Requisites for issuing search warrant
REQUISITES FOR ISSUING A SEARCH WARRANT
1. There must be probable cause
2. Which must be determined personally by the
judge
3. Upon personal examination in writing and
under oath of the complainant and his
witnesses in the form of probing and
searching questions and answers on facts
personally known to them
4. The probable cause must be in connection
with one specific offense
5. Particularly describing the place to be
searched and the items to be seized
6. The sworn statements together with the
affidavits of the witnesses must be attached to
the record.
PROBABLE CAUSE (IN GENERAL)
Such facts and circumstances antecedent to the
issuance of the warrant, that are in themselves
sufficient to induce a cautious man to believe that the
person against whom the search warrant is applied
had committed or is about to commit a crime
PROBABLE CAUSE FOR A SEARCH
It is defined as such facts and circumstances which
would lead a reasonably discreet and prudent man to
believe that an offense has been committed and that
the objects sought in connection with the offense are
in the place sought to be searched.
Determination of Probable Cause
Probable cause presupposes the introduction of
competent proof that the party against whom it is
sought has performed particular acts or committed
specific omissions violating a given provision of our
criminal laws.
Probable cause is determined in the light of the
conditions obtaining in given situations, but there is
no general formula or fixed rule for the determination
of the existence of probable cause.
A good and practical rule of thumb is to measure the
nearness of time given in the affidavit as to the date
of the alleged offense, and the time of the making the
affidavit. The nearer the time at which the
observation of the offense is alleged to have been
made, the more reasonable the conclusion of
establishment of probable cause