PROBABLE CAUSE IN A WORLD OF PURE IMAGINATION: WHY THE CANDYMAN WARRANTS SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GOLDEN TICKETS TO SEARCH

INTRODUCTION

Throughout our nation's history, courts have struggled to balance the individual's right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures against law enforcement's need to protect the community. All Americans have a fundamental right to be free from "rash and unreasonable interferences with privacy and from unfounded charges of crime,"2 yet law enforcement officials have legitimate and practical needs to discover information in connection with their efforts to investigate crime and protect the public interest.3 The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution was designed to aid the courts in striking a balance between these two conflicting interests: law enforcement must first establish probable cause before a court will issue a search warrant.4 But despite the Fourth Amendment's guidance, courts have found it difficult to strike such a balance because, in each case, the individual's right to engage in a particular activity varies, as does the nature of the crime under investigation. Not surprisingly, the concept of probable cause has been subject to a great deal of uncertainty because it must remain adaptable to all situations.5