- search and seizure
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n.A search in which the officers conducting the search take evidence of a crime if they find it.
The Essential Law Dictionary. — Sphinx Publishing, An imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. Amy Hackney Blackwell. 2008.
- search and seizure
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In criminal law, the phrase that describes law enforcement's gathering of evidence of a crime. Under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, any search of a person or his premises (including a vehicle), and any seizure of tangible evidence, must be reasonable. Normally, law enforcement must obtain a search warrant from a judge, specifying where and whom they may search, and what they may seize, though in emergency circumstances, they may dispense with the warrant requirement.Category: Criminal LawCategory: Small Claims Court & Lawsuits
Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary. Gerald N. Hill, Kathleen Thompson Hill. 2009.
- search and seizure
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n. The same as search, with the added provision of retention of any contraband or evidence of criminal activity that is found. Generally, a warrant is required, and the scope of that warrant will be very limited, due to Fourth Amendment constraints. There are, however, certain circumstances in which a warrant is not needed, including seizure of abandoned items, a hidden weapon, or contraband items that are in plain view.
Webster's New World Law Dictionary. Susan Ellis Wild. 2000.
- search and seizure
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A hunt by law enforcement officials for property or communications believed to be evidence of crime, and the act of taking possession of this property.In international law, the right of ships of war, as regulated by treaties, to examine a merchant vessel during war in order to determine whether the ship or its cargo is liable to seizure.
Dictionary from West's Encyclopedia of American Law. 2005.
- search and seizure
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A hunt by law enforcement officials for property or communications believed to be evidence of crime, and the act of taking possession of this property.In international law, the right of ships of war, as regulated by treaties, to examine a merchant vessel during war in order to determine whether the ship or its cargo is liable to seizure.
Short Dictionary of (mostly American) Legal Terms and Abbreviations.
- search and seizure
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n.examination of a person's premises (residence, business or vehicle) by law enforcement officers looking for evidence of the commission of a crime, and the taking (seizure and removal) of articles of evidence (such as controlled narcotics, a pistol, counterfeit bills, a blood-soaked blanket). The basic question is whether the search and seizure were "unreasonable" under the 4th Amendment to the Constitution (applied to the states under the 14th Amendment), which provides: "The right of people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated." Thus, searches and seizures must be under the authority of a search warrant or when the officer has solid facts that give him/her "probable cause" to believe there was evidence of a specific crime on the premises but no time to get a warrant. Evidence obtained in violation of the Constitution is not admissible in court, nor is evidence traced through such illegal evidence.
Law dictionary. EdwART. 2013.
