illegal search
Fourth Amendment violation
An illegal search is a search conducted by law enforcement without proper legal authority—lacking a valid warrant, probable cause, or applicable exception.
Evidence obtained through an illegal search may be inadmissible in court under the exclusionary rule: The judge threw out the drugs found in the illegal search of his car.
The concept is central to Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.
- warrantFormal authorization document
- Fourth AmendmentSearch and seizure protection
- seizureForcible taking or convulsion
- privacyFreedom from observation
- reasonable expectationJustified belief about likelihood
unreasonable · evidence · exclusionary · suppression · probable cause · wiretap · surveillance · police · no-knock raid · raid · contraband · Miranda · constitutional · violation · trespass · home · car · traffic stop
- rights violationsunlawful arrest, false imprisonment, coerced confession, unfair trial, double jeopardy
- legal defensesself-defense, alibi, affirmative defense, insanity defense, insanity
- political crimestreason, sedition, insurrection, coup d'etat, political corruption
illegal, search, legal, legally, illegally, legality, illegality, legalize, legalization