Before a warrant can be issued, what must be filed with the court?

• A. A complaint or affidavit based on probable cause
• B. A detective's report only
• C. A confession
• D. A search warrant

Answer: (A)

At issue is how a magistrate gets enough information to issue a warrant: a sworn, fact-based basis showing probable cause. Before a warrant is issued, the court must be provided with a complaint or affidavit that lays out specific facts and circumstances demonstrating probable cause to believe that evidence or contraband is located at a particular place or that a person to be searched or seized is connected to a crime. This sworn document gives the judge or magistrate the factual basis needed to determine whether probable cause exists.

A detective’s report by itself isn’t enough because it isn’t sworn evidence showing probable cause. A confession, while it may be used later in charges, does not by itself establish probable cause to search; it’s an admission by a person and not the factual showing needed to justify a search to the court. A search warrant is the outcome the officers are seeking from the court, not something that must be filed prior to establishing probable cause. So the filing that must occur is a complaint or affidavit based on probable cause.