AFFIDAVITS AND WARRANTS:In the criminal justice system, there are three ways to ensure that people tell the truth: by OATH, which is a solemn declaration to God that their statement is true; by AFFIRMATION, which is a solemn declaration without reference to God; and by AFFIDAVIT, which is a signed statement under penalty of perjury that the facts contained in a document are true.
For Fourth Amendment purposes, an affidavit has the same weight as an oath or affirmation even though it is little more than the equivalent of a notarized document. Affidavits are usually part of the warrant application process, and the procedure is the same whether the purpose is to obtain an arrest or search warrant, although there are slight differences in wording which will be explained below.
Affidavits should be more than simple statements which read "The undersigned officer has information from a reliable source that establishes probable cause to believe that..." for two reasons. One, the totality of circumstances test has replaced the reliable source doctrine and two, judges must usually determine whether probable cause exists, not officers. An officer denied a warrant cannot go to another judge with the same application materials. An affidavit, therefore, must be done right the first time and contain detailed facts.
The general form of an affidavit is as follows:
GENERAL AFFIDAVIT
State of ______________;County of _____________;The undersigned, an officer duly commissioned by the laws of _________ on this _______ day of _______________ 19____ personally appeared before __________________________________________________________________________ and having been duly sworn do hereby say:__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Officer signature: ___________________________Officer address: ____________________________
Sworn to and subscribed before me this _______ day of ____________ A.D. 19____
Judicial signature: _____________________________Judicial address: ______________________________