Search and seizure, in criminal law, is used to describe a law enforcement agent’s examination of a person’s home, vehicle, or business to find evidence that a crime has been committed. Asearchinvolves law enforcement officers going through part or all of individual's property, and looking for specific items that are related to a crime that they have reason to believe has been committed. Aseizurehappens if the officers take possession of items during the search.
The Fourth and the Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution require that any search of a person or their 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, but in emergency circ*mstances, they may do away with the warrant requirement.
[Last updated in August of 2021 by the Wex Definitions Team]
