Rule 3:5-8 Search and Seizure Without Search Warrant

This rule is straightforward: police do not always need a search warrant to legally search you or take your belongings. There are situations where a search without a warrant is perfectly legal under the law.

This rule simply makes clear that the other rules in Rule 3:5, which mostly deal with search warrants, do not ban warrantless searches. If a search without a warrant was already allowed by law, this rule does not change that.