A Search Warrant
Iowa Code § 808.3 — a sworn application to a magistrate, describing what is searched and seized
A search warrant is sought by a written application to a magistrate, under oath or affirmation, setting out facts tending to establish grounds and probable cause. It describes the person, place or thing to be searched and the property to be seized specifically enough that an independent reasonable person could identify them. The application may be made in person or electronically.
How a warrant is served is also measured by the Fourth Amendment. The Supreme Court of the United States has held that whether officers knocked and announced their presence before entering is part of whether the entry was reasonable, and that the knock and announce principle forms part of that analysis rather than being a rigid rule without exceptions. Those holdings are a floor: a state's own constitution and statutes can give more protection than they do, never less.
Sources for this section (2)
- Iowa Code § 808.3 — Application for search warrant
- Wilson v. Arkansas, 514 U.S. 927 (1995) — Knocking and announcing is part of whether an entry is reasonable
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Iowa attorney.