Legal Definitions - blanket search warrant

A blanket search warrant is a type of legal document, issued by a judge, that gives law enforcement officers overly broad permission to search a wide range of locations or seize a vast array of items without clearly specifying what they are looking for or where exactly they expect to find it.

Under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, search warrants must be very specific. They must describe with particularity the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized. This requirement is in place to protect individuals from arbitrary government intrusion and to prevent the government from using general warrants as tools of oppression. Because blanket search warrants fail to meet this constitutional standard of particularity, they are considered unconstitutional. Any evidence obtained through such a warrant cannot be used against a defendant in court.

Here are some examples to illustrate what a blanket search warrant entails:

• Scenario: Imagine a judge issues a warrant stating that police can search "any house on Oak Street" for "anything that looks suspicious" following a general increase in neighborhood crime.

  Explanation: This would be a blanket search warrant because it does not specify a particular house or a particular type of evidence related to a specific crime. A valid warrant would need to name a specific address (e.g., "the residence at 456 Oak Street") and describe the items being sought (e.g., "stolen electronics from the recent burglary at 450 Oak Street").

• Scenario: A warrant authorizes police to search "all records and computers" at a large corporate office building because one employee is suspected of insider trading, without narrowing the search to specific departments, individuals, or types of financial documents relevant to the suspected fraud.

  Explanation: This constitutes a blanket search warrant because it grants permission to indiscriminately search all data and records across an entire business, rather than focusing on specific evidence related to the suspected crime. A constitutional warrant would specify which records, computers, or areas within the firm are likely to contain evidence of the alleged insider trading.

• Scenario: Law enforcement obtains a warrant allowing them to seize a person's smartphone, laptop, and external hard drives, and to examine "all data" on these devices for "any evidence of criminal activity," without specifying a particular crime or the type of data they expect to find.

  Explanation: This is a blanket search warrant because it permits an unfocused, exploratory search of all digital information, rather than targeting specific data relevant to a probable cause finding. A valid warrant for digital devices would typically specify the type of data (e.g., "text messages related to drug distribution between specific dates") and the crime it pertains to.