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Simple English definitions for legal terms
exigent search
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A quick definition of exigent search:
Exigent search is when the police search someone or something without a warrant because there is an emergency, like if someone's life is in danger or evidence might be destroyed. It's different from a regular search, which usually needs a warrant and probable cause. Other types of searches include consent searches, where someone gives permission for the police to search, and protective searches, where the police search someone they've arrested to make sure they don't have any weapons.A more thorough explanation:
Definition: An urgent and immediate search conducted without a warrant due to circumstances that require immediate action, such as the risk of destruction of evidence or danger to human life.
Examples:
- A police officer hears screams coming from a house and enters without a warrant to search for a victim or perpetrator.
- Police officers are in pursuit of a suspect who enters a building, and they enter without a warrant to prevent the suspect from escaping or harming others.
- A police officer sees a suspect throwing drugs out of a car window and immediately searches the car without a warrant to prevent the destruction of evidence.
These examples illustrate how exigent circumstances can justify a warrantless search. In each case, the police officer had probable cause to conduct a search, and the urgency of the situation made it impractical to obtain a warrant. However, exigent circumstances are limited, and the police must still act reasonably and proportionally to the situation.