Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

An officer who wants a search warrant must submit an affidavit, signed under penalty of perjury, to a judge, explaining why there is probable cause to conduct the search.

The judge then reviews the affidavit and determines whether there's enough evidence to issue a warrant.

In some cases, the judge will seal portions of the search warrant that would identify informants who provided information to the police. The officers usually claim the informants would be in danger because the suspects might retaliate if they knew who ratted them out.

This is commonly known as a Hobbs warrant, even though the term really refers to the affidavit, not the warrant itself. People v. Hobbs (1994) 7 Cal.4th 948