This Court has adopted the "totality of the circumstances" test set forth in Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 103 S. Ct. 2317 (1983), to address the issue of probable cause for a search warrant. The totality of the circumstances test is fact specific. If a magistrate issues a search warrant after subjecting the application to this test, a reviewing court must presume that the magistrate's decision is correct. State v. Siegal, 281 Mont. 250, 279, 934 P.2d 176, 193 (1997).
When a magistrate determines that probable cause exists to warrant the issuance of a search warrant, this Court should not only give great deference to that decision but we should also draw every reasonable inference possible to support that decision. Thus, the duty of a reviewing court is not to conduct a de novo review of the magistrate's determination, but to simply ensure that the magistrate or lower court had a substantial basis for concluding that probable cause to issue the search warrant existed. State v. Siegal, 281 Mont. 250, 279, 934 P.2d 176, 193 (1997) (modified in part by State v. Kuneff, 1998 MT 287, ¶ 19, 291 Mont. 474, 970 P.2d 556).
However, when the issuance of a search warrant is based in part on illegal information, the reviewing court shall excise the illegally obtained information from the application for search warrant and review the remaining information de novo to determine whether probable cause supported the issuance of a search warrant. State v. Kuneff, 1998 MT 287, ¶ 19, 291 Mont. 474, 970 P.2d 556
We review a district court's legal conclusion on whether or not a search warrant is overbroad de novo. State v. Graham, 2004 MT 385, ¶ 11, 325 Mont. 110, 103 P.3d 1073.