A search warrant requires information on which of the following?

• A. This Specific Place
• B. Right Now (Staleness v. Freshness)
• C. Evidence/Fruits/Instrumentalities of a Specific Crime or Contraband
• D. Are in This Place

Answer: (C)

A search warrant must name the items to be seized. It ties probable cause to specific things—evidence of a crime, fruits of the crime, instrumentalities used to commit the crime, or contraband—so the search is limited to those objects and to the alleged offense. This particularity prevents broad, unfocused searches and ensures the officers only seize what’s described or clearly connected to the crime. While describing the place to be searched is also required, the essential information the warrant must provide is what items are sought and how they relate to a specific crime. The other aspects (where to search, freshness of information, or merely that the subjects are in the location) don’t by themselves define the scope the Fourth Amendment requires as precisely as identifying the items to be seized.