Search warent requirements.

[swingcadillac]

A friend of mine came home to find his adult son (who visiting and was a legal resident of another state) in hand cuffs in handcuffs, and his house being searched.

Apparently a customs official had found a package from the Philippines containing 60 tablets of oxycontin in a video tape being fedex’ed to the son at his fathers address. The warrant included among other things the seizure of all laptop and desktop computers and media storage devices. The police took the drugs, the adult sons computer, and also took the (2) computers belonging to my friend and his other 11 year old son, and a police badge and replica police ID from the military artifact collection of my friend. They told my friend he might be able to get back his computers in 4 months. I have personally seen evidence take longer to return.

I find 2 problems with this.

1. The only evidence the search warrant shows to indicate the reasoning behind taking the computers is an a affidavit from a customs officer stating that,
“Based on my experience and the experience of other agents who have conducted these investigations, a large portion of prescribed drugs obtained illegally from overseas are ordered over the internet. Along with a search of the premises above, all computers, software and media storage material within the residence should be conducted to ascertain if they were used to purchases the oxycontin electronically.”

The son does not live at the house, was only visiting. The drugs were clearly addressed to him and the computers must be proved to belong to him to be seized, there is no proof that the drugs were ordered over the internet other than hearsay of the customs official. If they were ordered over the internet then they could have been ordered any where in the world. The son was just in the Philippines and has told the police he had a prescription from a doctor there and the doctor mailed them to him and he does not know why they came concealed in a video tape.

Is it legal for the judge to issue the warrant for the seizure of computers just from the hearsay of a customs official.

2. While it is illegal to impersonate a police officer, having a replica police badge and ID in a personal military collection for costume purposes I do not believe to be illegal nor was it listed on the warrant.

Can he write an appeal to the judge to request these Items returned immediately? montana

[CdwJava]

Your friend needs an attorney.

ANY computer he had access to would be subject to seizure provided it meets the requirements of the search warrant. The warrant was not issued on "hearsay", it was issued on specific information (the discovery of drugs in mail addressed to him), and the training and experience of the affiant. To even stand a chance of a successful challenge of the warrant, he will need an attorney and a lot of luck.

And he can get his computers back when the judge says he can, or when the prosecutor no longer needs it for his case.



- Carl