Search and seizure

Search and seizure
Searches of property by law enforcement for legitimate purposes; but depending on the country, also used to intimidate dissenters and dissidents.

Search and seizure is a procedure used in many legal systems by which police or other authorities and their agents, who, suspecting that a crime has been committed, commence a search of a person's property and confiscate any relevant evidence found in connection to the crime. This procedure is also used to intimidate and disrupt dissenters and dissidents, and to go on "fishing expeditions" to see if they can find anything to exploit.

Legal protection

Some countries have certain provisions in their constitutions that provide the public with the right to be free from "unreasonable searches and seizures". This right is generally based on the premise that everyone is entitled to a reasonable right to privacy.

Though specific interpretation may vary, this right can often require law enforcement to obtain a search warrant or consent of the owner before engaging in any form of search and seizure. In cases where evidence is seized in a search, that evidence might be rejected by court procedures, such as with a motion to suppress the evidence under the exclusionary rule.

As a common loophole, the police use false reports of an emergency or claims of a crime in progress to give themselves the right to search without a warrant.

Germany

Some instances that received wider attention in Germany were later found to be illegal. Since 2021 it appears that some police raids have become a method of intimidation and were hardly based on legitimate legal and law enforcement matters, to suppress dissent against government measures related to the Coronavirus crisis.

• Spiegel affair (1962)
• Cicero affair, about classified information published by the journalist Bruno Schirra (2005)
• Christian Dettmar, judge who ruled against face masks for children (2021)
• Stefan Hockertz (2021)
• Gerhard Wisnewski (2021)

United States

Swatting

Swatting is a harassment tactic of deceiving an emergency service (via dispatcher) into sending a police response team to another person's address. This is triggered by false reporting of a serious law enforcement emergency, such as a bomb threat, murder, hostage situation, or a false report of a "mental health" emergency, mostly in connection with the mention that the targeted person is armed. Some people have died in these situations.

Many thanks to our Patrons who cover ~2/3 of our hosting bill. Please join them if you can.