No-Knock search warrants are increasingly controversial in both practice and perception. Tragic outcomes resulting from law enforcement’s use of No-Knock search warrants has fueled both a public policy debate and legal debate. Minnesota is no exception to these debates as No-Knock search warrants are legal. From a policy perspective, compelling arguments exist both for and against law enforcements’ ability to enter a dwelling without notice or warning to execute a search warrant. Common law enforcement justifications for a No-Knock warrant include the safety of officers and preventing loss of evidence. Arguments against No-Knock warrants focus on unjust use-of-force, including shootings of residents resulting in death and disparate impacts on our communities.
According to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension published data, across Minnesota 185 No-Knock search warrants were requested in 2022. Of those, 179 were approved by the reviewing judge – an approval rate of nearly 97%. As an aside, no search warrant of any type is valid unless and until the warrant is: 1) sworn to under oath by the law enforcement authority, and 2) approved/authorized by a district court judge. No Minnesota law requires the use of a No-Knock search warrant under any circumstances. Applying for a No-Knock warrant is completely at the discretion of the law enforcement agent and/or department. In other words, a policy choice. Recently, some law enforcement agencies have made the policy decision to not use or request No-Knock warrants. Similarly, a strong push was made during the last legislative session to change the law, and legally preclude all No-Knock search warrants across Minnesota.
However, the effort to change the law and legally preclude No-Knock warrants was not adopted. Rather, the Minnesota legislature settled on compromise language which more specifically details when, and under what circumstances, a No-Knock search warrant may be used. The new 2023 language is found in Minnesota Statute 626.14, Subdivision 3, and requires (in part) increased evidentiary details which justify the issuance of a No-Knock warrant. These new standards are certainly a reflection of evolving policy and decisions already made by some agencies.