Reading a Search Warrant
N.D.C.C. § 29-29-08 — an officer refused admittance after giving notice may break in to execute a search warrant
A search warrant is a written order, made in the name of the state and signed by a magistrate, directing a peace officer to search for personal property and bring it before the magistrate.
- An officer serving it may break open a door or window if, after giving notice of the officer's authority and purpose, the officer is refused admittance.
- Entry without that notice is allowed only when a magistrate learned in the law put a direction in the warrant, on sworn proof that the property could be quickly destroyed or that notice would endanger life or limb.
- Recklessly and without probable cause causing a search warrant to be issued and executed is a class A misdemeanor.
Most of how a warrant is issued, served and returned is now set by the North Dakota Rules of Criminal Procedure, which the repealed sections point to. A particular search is a question for a licensed North Dakota attorney.
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 (4)
- N.D.C.C. § 29-29-01 — Search warrant defined
- N.D.C.C. § 29-29-08 — Execution of warrant - Use of force
- N.D.C.C. § 29-29-18 — Causing issuance of search warrant on false information - Penalty
- 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 North Dakota attorney.