Rule Text
A search warrant may be issued to search for and to seize:
(a) contraband, the fruits of a crime, or things otherwise criminally possessed;
(b) property that is or has been used as the means of committing a criminal offense;
(c) property that constitutes evidence of the commission of a criminal offense; or
(d) a person for whom a bench or arrest warrant has been issued.
Amendment history: The provisions of this Rule 201 amended May 2, 2024, effective October 1, 2024, 54 Pa.B. 2743. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (335388) and (389105).
Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)
This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.
A search warrant gives police the legal authority to search a place and take certain things. Those things include illegal items, stolen goods, or anything used to commit a crime.
A warrant can also allow police to seize items that serve as evidence of a crime. On top of that, a warrant can be used to find and detain a person who already has an arrest or bench warrant out for them.
Committee Notes
Concerning the provisions of subdivision (a) see United States v. Rabinowitz, 339 U.S. 56 (1950), overruled as to other points, Chimel v. California, 395 U.S. 752, 786 (1969). Also compare, Cooper v. California, 386 U.S. 58 (1967), with One 1958 Plymouth Sedan v. Pennsylvania, 380 U.S. 693 (1964).
Warrants may not be issued unless the affidavit alleges a pre-existing crime. See United States ex. rel. Campbell v. Rundle, 327 F.2d 153, 161 (3rd Cir. 1964), followed sub nom. Commonwealth ex rel. Ensor v. Cummings, 207 A.2d 230 (Pa. 1965) and Commonwealth ex rel. Campbell v. Russell, 207 A.2d 232 (Pa. 1965).
Concerning the provisions of subdivision (c), see Warden v. Hayden, 387 U.S. 294 (1967).
Subdivision (d) clarifies that a person is a proper subject of a search warrant when the person is also the subject of a bench or arrest warrant. In such circumstances, the search warrant is to effectuate the arrest by permitting the search of a premises other than the residence of the subject of the bench or arrest warrant. The search warrant does not take the place of the underlying bench or arrest warrant.
