Opinion ID: 2214390
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Lack of Oath or Affirmation

Text: ¶ 33 Both the United States and Wisconsin Constitutions provide that no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation.... U.S. Const, amend. IV; Wis. Const, art. 1, § 11. We have declined to consider this requirement a mere technicality, but have upheld its basic substantive importance, stating: An oath is a matter of substance, not form, and it is an essential component of the Fourth Amendment and legal proceedings. The purpose of an oath or affirmation is to impress upon the swearing individual an appropriate sense of obligation to tell the truth. An oath or affirmation to support a search warrant reminds both the investigator seeking the search warrant and the magistrate issuing it of the importance and solemnity of the process involved. An oath or affirmation protects the target of the search from impermissible state action by creating liability for perjury or false swearing for those who abuse the warrant process by giving false or fraudulent information. An oath preserves the integrity of the search warrant process and thus protects the constitutionally guaranteed fundamental right of people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures. State v. Tye, 2001 WI 124, ¶ 19, 248 Wis.2d 530, 636 N.W.2d 473 (footnotes omitted). ¶ 34 When a warrant fails to comply with the constitutional oath or affirmation requirement, we have considered it to be invalid when issued. Id., ¶ 23. In Tye the warrant was facially defective because no sworn affidavit was attached, although the court held and the parties stipulated that the affidavit, if true and sworn, would have provided probable cause for the search. Id., ¶¶ 5, 7. We contrasted the warrant's deficiency with a case where the error was in the street number of the premises to be searched. State v. Nicholson, 174 Wis.2d 542, 544, 497 N.W.2d 791 (Ct.App.1993). In Nicholson, however, this error was only a technical irregularity not affecting the substantial rights of the defendant, allowing the warrant itself to be valid when issued. Tye, 248 Wis.2d 530, ¶ 23, 636 N.W.2d 473. ¶ 35 Here, the arrest warrant was not accompanied by an affidavit, sworn or unsworn. The absence of an affidavit violated Wis. Stat. §§ 818.04 and 818.07. The absence of a sworn affidavit violated the state and federal constitutions and rendered evidence obtained as a result of the warrant inadmissible. Tye, 248 Wis.2d 530, ¶ 3, 636 N.W.2d 473. An oath or affirmation is necessary to induce an honest belief in the mind of the magistrate that probable cause exists. Kraus v. State, 226 Wis. 383, 386, 276 N.W. 303 (1937) (citing State v. Baltes, 183 Wis. 545, 552, 198 N.W. 282 (1924) (suppressing evidence because no sworn testimony existed to support the warrant)). ¶ 36 The oath or affirmation and probable cause requirements apply equally to arrest warrants as well as search warrants. Giordenello v. U.S., 357 U.S. 480, 485-86, 78 S.Ct. 1245, 2 L.Ed.2d 1503 (1958). The sworn complaint or affidavit is necessary to allow the judge or magistrate to make an informed determination regarding the existence of probable cause. Id. at 486, 78 S.Ct. 1245. The test for the sufficiency of a sworn complaint or affidavit is whether it can support the independent judgment of a disinterested magistrate. Whiteley v. Warden, Wyo. State Pen., 401 U.S. 560, 565, 91 S.Ct. 1031, 28 L.Ed.2d 306 (1971). ¶ 37 Without an affidavit accompanied by oath or affirmation, the warrant failed to meet a basic constitutional requirement and was void ab initio. See Tye, 248 Wis.2d 530, ¶ 13, 636 N.W.2d 473. The absence of any affidavit should have put both the court and the sheriff's department on notice of a problem.