How to Obtain a Search Warrant In Texas ?

It is beyond dispute that a search warrant may not be issued unless sufficient facts are first presented upon which a magistrate may conclude that probable cause exists supporting the warrant's issuance. TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 18.01(b) (Vernon Supp. 2000). Furthermore, these facts must be contained in a "sworn affidavit" accompanying the application for the warrant, id., and illustrate: (1) that a specific offense has been committed; (2) that the specifically described property or items to be sought and seized constitute evidence of that offense or evidence that a particular person committed the offense; (3) that the property or items in question are located at or on the particular person, place or thing to be searched. Id. at art. 18.01(c). Whether the facts mentioned in an affidavit are adequate to establish probable cause depends on the totality of the circumstances. Ramos v. State, 934 S.W.2d 358, 362-63 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996), cert. denied, 520 U.S. 1198, 117 S. Ct. 1556, 137 L. Ed. 2d 704 (1997). Finally, the facts do so when the totality of those circumstances justifies a conclusion that the object of the search is probably on the premises. Ramos, 934 S.W.2d at 363.