Legal Topics > Criminal Law >

Nolo's Plain-English Law Dictionary

Legal Dictionary Home

Need Professional Help? Talk to a Lawyer
Enter Your Zip Code to Connect with a Lawyer Serving Your Area
searchbox small
Unreasonable Search And Seizure
A search and seizure by a law enforcement officer without a search warrant and without probable cause to believe that evidence of a crime is present. Such a search or seizure is unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment (applied to the states by the Fourteenth Amendment), and evidence obtained from the unlawful search may not be introduced in court. (See also: fruit of the poisonous tree)


Need Legal Help?
Get Informed Check out our thousands of free articles on everyday legal topics--they're accurate, up to date, and written in plain English.
Do It Yourself With Nolo's easy-to-use books, legal forms, online services, and software, you can handle many routine legal tasks yourself.
Talk to a Lawyer Just enter your zip code to connect with a lawyer serving your area.
LA-WS5:0.9.22.120522.13848+