What is a warrant?
A warrant is a judicial order authorizing peace officers to arrest or search. Warrants are issued by a judge when he has enough information to believe a crime has been committed and the person named in the warrant probably committed that crime or the place to be search is the probable location of evidence of that crime. This is what is meant by the constitution where it says no warrant shall issue except upon “probable cause” to believe a crime has been committed.
A justification or reason to arrest/search/seize, which exists PRIOR to the arrest, usually described in a document. The Warrant describes exactly what is to be searched, or who/what is to be seized (and why!). All proper arrests, searches, seizures need this in order to be valid (except perhaps for some extremely rare circumstances). We often hear today of the multitude of conditions under which a warrantless search or arrest can happen. “It’s OK, you see! The courts have approved it” (which, by the way, is the same court that makes a “fine” profit when you are found guilty of the charges). WHAT RUBBISH! A Warrant is more than a piece of paper. (And under the present system, having the Warrant issued by a judge is like putting the wolf in charge of protecting the sheep!) Look up the word in any dictionary. Warrant means “justification, reason”. If there is no Warrant for arrest, there is no “just reason” for arrest. There is no just action. Imagine a world where a Warrant is not neede
