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42E-Search Warrant Affidavits <br /> <br /> <br />Policy & Procedure Page 2 of 10 <br />It is the policy of the Lexington Police Department that: <br /> <br /> Officers applying for search warrants have a sound knowledge of the legal <br />requirements associated with obtaining a search warrant in order to prevent <br />suppression of evidence, support the Constitutional rights of citizens and to <br />maintain public confidence in the department; and <br /> Officers shall apply for a search warrant whenever practical. <br /> <br /> <br />PROCEDURES <br /> <br />A. Search Warrants Generally <br /> <br />1. Authority to Issue Warrants <br /> <br />a. Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court, the Superior Court <br />Department and the various District Court Departments, and <br />Clerk/Magistrates, Assistant Clerk/Magistrates, Temporary <br />Clerk/Magistrates, and Temporary Assistant Clerk/Magistrates of <br />the District Court Departments are authorized to issue search <br />warrants.i <br />b. A judge or clerk may issue a search warrant for execution <br />anywhere in the Commonwealth. <br />c. Warrants for body cavity searches may only be issued by a judge <br />on a strong showing of particularized need supported by a high <br />degree of probable cause.ii <br />d. Warrants in criminal cases must identify the property to be <br />searched for and name or describe the person or place to be <br />searched. <br /> <br />2. Obtaining a Search Warrant <br /> <br />a. The legal procedure for obtaining a search warrant is specified by <br />M.G.L. c. 276, § 1, see Department policy 42F-Executing Search <br />Warrants. <br />b. M.G.L. 276, § 2B states, the officer seeking the warrant must <br />submit a warrant application and affidavit upon oath that [s]he <br />believes that the property or articles named in the application for <br />the warrant are concealed in a house, place, vessel or vehicle or <br />in the possession of a person anywhere within the Commonwealth <br />and/or territorial waters. iii <br />c. The affiant must satisfy the justice or clerk before whom the <br />warrant is sought that there is probable cause to believe that the <br />property or person sought is located at the place to be searched. <br /> <br />3. Serving the Warrant: Officers conducting search based upon a search <br />warrant are limited to searching the locations named in the body of the <br />warrant and only in such places that the property sought may be