Search Warrants in South Carolina

The 4th amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees 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

Search warrants are issued when a Summary Court Judge is presented with an affidavit from law enforcement establishing a good faith belief (probable cause) of illegal activity. Search warrants are required to identify the property and describe the person or premises to be searched. The issuing judge will direct the warrant to a law enforcement officer with jurisdiction over the area where the search is to be conducted and it is required that the search warrant be returned to the issuing judge within ten days of signing. The officer executing the warrant is required to return a signed inventory of articles seized to the issuing judge and to issue a copy of the inventory to the person or premises where the search was conducted.

The exclusionary rule excludes evidence from being admissible (in court) if discovered from an unreasonable search and seizure. The purpose of the exclusionary rule is to deter law enforcement officers from conducting searches and seizures in violation of the fourth amendment of the U.S. Constitution and to provide remedies for defendants whose rights have been violated. Fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine extends the exclusionary rule to make evidence inadmissible if discovered from other evidence illegally obtained. Evidence may still be admissible at trial if obtained with a search warrant that appeared to have a lawful basis but later turned out to be invalid. The "Good Faith Exception" does not apply if an officer lies and misrepresents facts to the issuing judge or if an officer relies on a warrant supported by an affidavit based on lies or intentional misinformation.