I wish I had any confidence that "need a warrant" didn't just mean "Do it without a warrant, and never admit you did it. Parallel reconstruct a different chain

I wish I had any confidence that "need a warrant" didn't just mean "Do it without a warrant, and never admit you did it. Parallel reconstruct a different chain of evidence if it pans out." - and then later from court transcripts we read "The defendant got pulled over in a traffic stop for a broken tail light, and the officer discovered {{badthing}}"...