Legal Dictionary of Pakistan

mere-evidence rule

Criminal procedure. The former doctrine that a search warrant allows seizure of the instrumentalities of the crime (such as a murder weapon) or the fruits of the crime (such as stolen goods), but does not permit the seizure of items that have evidentiary value only (such as incriminating documents).The Supreme Court has abolished this rule, and today warrants may be issued to search for and seize all evidence of a crime. Warden v. Hayden, 387 U.S. 294, 87 S.Ct. 1642 (1967); Fed. R. Crim. P. 41(b).