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Step 1
Read the search warrant presented to you by law enforcement officials to determine if it is legal. The warrant should be dated and signed by a judge who has jurisdiction over your property and there should be some type of government seal on the document. The warrant should also explicitly state the areas and persons to be searched.
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Step 2
Learn about the concept of probable cause and how it can affect the parameters of a search at any time. Probable cause refers to the conditions under which an officer may arrest a person and/or search her property. The conditions set forth in a search warrant may change if an officer feels threatened, if a suspect acts in a suspicious manner or if the officer is able to make visual contact with additional evidence outside of the area covered by the warrant.
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Step 3
Examine the "expectation of privacy" that accompanies a search and seizure. For instance, while a person may expect a certain amount of privacy behind closed doors, his privacy may be compromised by suspicious activity that can be openly witnessed by others, including law enforcement officers. A good example of this would be taking illegal drugs in front of an open window in your home where others can see you.
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Step 4
Be aware that giving a law enforcement officer consent to searching your premises or person automatically renders the search legal, with or without a warrant. Unless probable cause exists, you always have the right to tell a law enforcement officer to obtain a search warrant before allowing him into your home.
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Step 5
Determine if a search and seizure is occurring because of "exigent circumstances," in which a law officer may have to act quickly in order to prevent the destruction of evidence. This is an important component of probable cause. If an officer sees a suspect flushing drugs down a toilet, he can stop him, even if the bathroom is outside the parameters originally set forth in the warrant.
