Code of Alabama
Ala. Code § 15-5-3 (2026)
Probable Cause and Affidavit Required.
✓ official Alabama Legislature (ALISON) text, current July 2026
A search warrant can only be issued on probable cause, supported by an affidavit naming or describing the person and particularly describing the property and the place to be searched.
(Code 1852, §827; Code 1867, §4378; Code 1876, §4007; Code 1886, §4729; Code 1896, §5486; Code 1907, §7759; Code 1923, §5473; Code 1940, T. 15, §102.)
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 20
cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1979–2024 · leading case: State v. Teague, 469 So. 2d 1310 (Ala. Crim. App. 1985).
State v. Teague, 469 So. 2d 1310 (Ala. Crim. App. 1985). “"To say that a defendant `was not prejudiced because the search did not extend beyond his apartment, would overlook the fundamental basis of the constitutional requirements' and make `admissibility depend on success of the search' notwithstanding the fact the warrant `vests the…”
Shotts v. State, 925 N.E.2d 719 (Ind. 2010). “, Ala.Code §§ 15-5-3, -4 (2008) (allowing oral testimony but requiring that the witness be deposed); I.”
Roe v. Mobile Cnty. Appointment Bd., 676 So. 2d 1206 (Ala. 1995). “Although there is no definition of the word "affidavit" in the Alabama Code insofar as I can tell, the word is used in many statutes, among them are Ala.Code 1975, § 15-5-3 ("A search warrant can only be issued on probable cause, supported by an affidavit.”
Simmons v. State, 797 So. 2d 1134 (Ala. Crim. App. 2000). “Specifically, he argues that the knife and the bloody clothing and shoes that were listed in the search warrant and that were seized during the search should have been suppressed because these items were not specifically listed in the affidavit that supplied the probable cause…”
Robinette v. State, 531 So. 2d 682 (Ala. Crim. App. 1987). “" Section 15-5-3, Code of Alabama 1975, provides, "A search warrant can only be issued on probable cause, supported by an affidavit naming or describing the person and particularly describing the property and the place to be searched.”
Marks v. State, 575 So. 2d 611 (Ala. Crim. App. 1991). “Appellant contends that Sergeant DeButy had no personal knowledge for swearing that an informant known to Officer Hunt was reliable. He characterizes the information in the affidavit as "double hearsay.”
Cochran v. State, 111 So. 3d 148 (Ala. Crim. App. 2012). “" Similarly, § 15-5-3, Ala.Code 1975, provides that "[a] search warrant can only be issued on probable cause, supported by an affidavit naming or describing the person and particularly describing the property and the place to be searched.”
Franklin v. State, 621 So. 2d 364 (Ala. Crim. App. 1992). “The informant told Cook that the appellant would bury the cocaine somewhere on his farm, but would not let anyone accompany him to his hiding place on the farm. Cook also stated at the suppression hearing that he had used the informant 12 times in the past and that the…”
C.B.D. v. State, 90 So. 3d 227 (Ala. Crim. App. 2011). “A request for items that would constitute child pornography, C.”
Bailey v. State, 67 So. 3d 145 (Ala. Crim. App. 2009). “” § 15-5-3, Ala.Code 1975 (emphasis added).”
Pianzio v. State, 423 So. 2d 258 (Ala. Crim. App. 1982). “*265 II The search of the airplane and automobile was defective for a second reason: the search warrants were executed in the nighttime. § 15-5-8 Code of Ala.1975 reads: "A search warrant must be executed in the daytime unless the affidavits state positively that the property is…”
Taylor v. Siegelman, 230 F. Supp. 2d 1284 (N.D. Ala. 2002). “9, Alabama Rules of Criminal Procedure, a search warrant can only be issued on probable cause, supported by an affidavit naming or describing the person and particularly the place to be searched. Under § 15-5-5, Ala. Code, the judge or magistrate must issue the warrant if he or…”
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