A blanket search warrant is a document issued by a court that gives law enforcement officials the authority to search an individual or property for evidence that can be used in an investigation. The search can be conducted within a certain geographic area, a particular time period, or for any type of evidence relating to a crime or any other matter under investigation. Unlike a regular search warrant, a blanket search warrant does not have to specify the items to be seized, nor must the issuing judge be fully briefed about the grounds for making the search.
Modern Examples of Blanket Search Warrants
In recent years, blanket search warrants have been employed by law enforcement officials in a number of high-profile cases. In the trial of 19-year-old Dylann Roof, the White Supremacist Terrorist who killed nine worshippers at a Church in South Carolina, a blanket search warrant was issued for any possible evidence relating to the crime. Federal courts have also granted blanket search warrants seeking evidence of identify theft, narcotics trafficking, and money laundering.
Implications of Blanket Search Warrants
As powerful as they are, blanket search warrants must be used with caution, as they can be a form of overreach by law enforcement. If the search is too broad and not reasonably related to the offense being investigated, it can trigger an accusation of Fourth Amendment violations, which can then result in a court throwing out the evidence obtained as part of the search.
Blanket search warrants nonetheless remain a vital tool in the fight against crime and remain available for those matters to which they can properly be applied without infringing on the rights of citizens and suspects.