Pennsylvania Small Business Law and Litigation

A formal written order approved or signed by a judge or magistrate, allowing law enforcement officials the right to conduct activities. Warrants can be related either to a request to search premises or to arrest someone. A search warrant allows police to enter and search a location for items named in the warrant. Search warrants require that the police have demonstrated to a judge in advance that they have probable cause to believe the items they seek, relating to the investigation of a crime, are in the location for which they requested the warrant. An arrest warrant authorizes police to arrest someone and requires that police have shown a judge or magistrate that a crime has been committed and the person named in the warrant is responsible for the crime.