The Shadow Challenge

by: Ryan Scott • May 6, 2025 • no comments

“Shadow Challenge” is a type of motion to controvert, and the name comes from The Hollow Men by T.S. Eliot:

Between the idea

And the reality

Between the motion

And the act

Falls the Shadow.

Police get a search warrant. When they do, there is probable cause that evidence relevant to the crime will be found in the location to be searched. But there's many a slip between the cup and the lip.

If the police – after they have obtained a search warrant, but prior to its execution – obtain information that undermines the probable cause requirement, the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution obligates them to return to the magistrate for a new finding of probable cause. United States v. Marin Buitrago, 734 F2d 889 (2d Cir 1984). See also, Washington v Reichenbach, 153 Wash 2d 126, 101 P3d 80 (2004); United States v. Bowling, 900 F2d 926 (6th Cir 1990).