The U.S. Constitution protects its people against unreasonable searches and seizures. According to the laws, a search warrant shall only be issued to a police officer whenever there is probable cause which has also been defined by the constitution. These rules are provided in the Fourth Amendment of the constitution (Search and Seizure Frequently Asked Questions, n.d.) .
The state of Oklahoma adopts these rules but also adds its own twists. The Oklahoma statute demands that the police supports a probable cause with an affidavit or sworn testimony (Keele, 2017) . These required items need to identify and describe the place or property to be searched. For occup ied dwellings, a search warrant shall only be served between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. However, a judge can issue a warrant outside these hours under the following circumstances:
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The evidence to be collected can only be found outside these hours.
The property is a crime scene.
There is a possibility that the evidence or property may be destroyed if the police are supposed to wait for the acknowledged hours.
The crime is related to dangerous substances such as the manufacture of methamphetamine.
The search and seizure laws outlined above were arguably formulated with good intentions. The exceptions needed by the police for them to be issued with search warrants during the non-specified hours are quite reasonable. However, the main concern kicks in when the police use these exceptions to their own benefit or for malicious purposes. It is without a doubt that there are officers who have malicious intents against people and may use these exception laws to intimidate those people. For instance, an officer may formulate an affidavit alleging that one’s property is suspected to be a methamphetamine manufacturing site. The laws need to be adjusted so as to prevent officers with malicious intentions from using them to intimidate citizens.
References
Keele, M. &. (2017, January 17). SEARCH WARRANT REQUIREMENTS IN OKLAHOMA . Retrieved February 15, 2019, from MONROE AND KEELE: http://www.monroe-associates.com/criminal-defense/search-warrant-requirements-oklahoma/
Search and Seizure Frequently Asked Questions . (n.d.). Retrieved February 15, 2019, from JUSTIA: https://www.justia.com/criminal/docs/search-seizure-faq/
