Reading A Search Warrant
S.C. Code 17-13-140 — sworn grounds, served within ten days, a copy with the affidavit, and an inventory
A search warrant, the sections this page reads say, in short:
- It is issued only on an affidavit sworn before the judicial officer, establishing the grounds.
- The judge issues it if satisfied the grounds exist, or that there is probable cause to believe they exist.
- It identifies the property and names or describes the person or place to be searched.
- It is executed, and the return made, only within ten days after it is dated.
- The person served is given a copy of the warrant along with the affidavit it was issued on.
- The officer makes a signed inventory of anything seized, and gives a copy to the person it was taken from on demand.
A warrant may be issued for stolen or embezzled property, property whose possession is unlawful, property used or intended for committing a crime, property that is evidence of a crime or tends to show who committed it, and drugs held in violation of the law. It may be issued by a magistrate, a recorder or city judge with a magistrate's powers, or a judge of a court of record with jurisdiction where the property is.
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.
The section does not change any other law that makes special provision for particular searches, and warrants for electronic communications have a section of their own. Searches without a warrant are not on this page. Whether a particular warrant was valid is a question for a licensed South Carolina attorney.
Sources for this section (3)
- S.C. Code 17-13-140 — Issuance, execution and return of search warrants
- S.C. Code 17-13-150 — Person served search warrant shall be furnished copy of warrant and supporting affidavit
- 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 South Carolina attorney.