Search Warrant Scenario

Search Warrant Scenario Student Name Institution Course Professor date Introduction In the given case, Investigator Mary Smith believes that John Doe is dealing in heroin from his apartment situated at 1234 Main Street, “Apartment #12,” in the “Village of Anywhere,” Wisconsin. The investigation conducted by “Anywhere Police Department” has been ongoing for seven months, and the police have used a confidential informant to make controlled buys and searched garbage that contained drug paraphernalia. To conduct a legal search of Doe's apartment, Investigator Smith has to get a search warrant based on the 4th Amendment, which has to be done after proving probable cause. Establishing Probable Cause The first step in obtaining a search warrant is identifying probable cause, which is the legally required rationale a crime was committed and evidence is in the search area. As pointed out by Rachlinski et al. (n.d), in this case, probable cause is backed by controlled buys made by a confidential informer codenamed "Pipeline," as well as drug paraphernalia found in Doe's trash. This information is enough to support the reasonable suspicion that heroin is being sold from Doe's apartment, hence warranting the issuance of a search warrant. Role and Credibility of the Confidential Informant A confidential informant like "Pipeline" is vital in establishing probable cause. A CI usually furnishes information concerning criminal activities to the police, in return for which he is generally granted some leniency in legal proceedings or paid some amount of money. Thus, to provide the informant's credibility, the law enforcement authorities must assess the credibility of the informat...