The Fourth Amendment guarantees that the people be free from unreasonable search and seizure and before the government can search our Utah homes, Utah businesses or person a valid search warrant is required. However, there are exceptions to the warrant requirement.
1. The police can search without a warrant if exigent circumstances exist. Exigent circumstances can be somewhat of a catchall but include emergency situations but the police must be able to articulate the emergency and not be the one who created the emergency situation.
2. They may search your person or your immediate area incident to a lawful arrest. This is for officer safety and to avoid the possible destruction of evidence.
3. Consent. Obviously if you give police the ok to search your house or vehicle then they can do so without a warrant but the search must still be based on probable cause.
4. The police are allowed to search your vehicle without a warrant due to the transient nature of vehicles allowing the evidence to simply drive away.
5. Plain view. If the police are legitimately present then they can seize anything illegal they see.
6. Inventory search. If you are booked into jail and your vehicle is impounded or your personal possessions taken from you then those items in your vehicle or possession will be inventoried.
7. Stop and frisk. A Terry stop is a brief detention to investigate suspicious conduct; the frisk is a brief pat down of the outer clothing to check for weapons which is justified by officer safety.
8. If officers are in hot pursuit of an individual they can follow individual into their home without a warrant and seize any evidence in plain view.



The search warrant must be based on probable cause ;



