The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution states that:
“
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue; but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
”
The courts in interpreting this have determined that searches conducted with a search warrant are assumed to be reasonable and searches without a search warrant are assumed to be unreasonable and therefore illegal. However, the courts have also determined several exceptions to the requirement of a search warrant. For a warrant to issue, there must be these five requirements:
Probable cause
Oath or affirmation of probable cause
Particularly describing places to be searched, and what is to be searched for and/or seized
Signed by the Judicial Branch (a judge, essentially)
Executed by the Executive Branch (the police, in general)
