search warrants

[miss ann]

My state is New York.

A search warrant was executed in an apartment building, no specific apartment. Both apartments were searched. The address of the building was on the warrant but no specific apartment to be searched. The police had no idea how many apartments were in the building. Doesn't this warrant need to specify which apartment is to be searched? Is there any case law to support this argument?

 

[seniorjudge]

My state is New York.

A search warrant was executed in an apartment building, no specific apartment. Both apartments were searched. The address of the building was on the warrant but no specific apartment to be searched. The police had no idea how many apartments were in the building. Doesn't this warrant need to specify which apartment is to be searched? Is there any case law to support this argument?

Yes, the place to be searched has to be specific.

But, tell me, how many apartments were in the building at the address on the search warrant?

What EXACTLY did the search warrant say was supposed to be searched? (They should've left you a copy when they searched your place.)

There are probably thousands if not millions of cases on the Fourth Amendment.

 

[miss ann]

I do not have the warrant with me.
the police raided an apartment building, search both upstairs apartments and downstairs storefronts. When searching apartments there is no specific apartment mentioned on the warrant, it just says upstairs apartment. They searched both apartments and found some incriminating evidence while making these searches.
Again the warrant wasnt specific. isnt it true that a warrant (address) cant be for a whole apartment building or floor-it has to be for a specific apartment?
Do you know of specific cases that are thrown out or evidence inadmissible because of this?

 

[You Are Guilty]

The big NY case on warrants is People v. Nieves, 36 N.Y.2d 396 (1975).

If the warrant listed one apartment and they found something in the other, that's a good argument for supression. On the other hand, if the warrant just listed the building (with two apartments), caselaw says there's a decent chance the search will be upheld. It's highly fact specific though, so the precise wording of the warrant is going to be needed to go any further.

(clarification)
There is no requirement that the warrant actually specify the apartment number. From the above case:

This does not mean that hypertechnical accuracy and completeness of description must be attained but rather, from the standpoint of common sense (United States v. Ventresca, 380 U.S. 102, 108, 85 S.Ct. 741, 13 L.Ed.2d 684; People v. Hendricks, 25 N.Y.2d 129, 137, 303 N.Y.S.2d 33, 39, 250 N.E.2d 323, 327), that the [highlight]descriptions in the warrant and its supporting affidavits be sufficiently definite to enable the searcher to identify the persons, places or things [/highlight] that the Magistrate has previously determined should be searched or seized.

 

[seniorjudge]

I do not have the warrant with me.
the police raided an apartment building, search both upstairs apartments and downstairs storefronts. When searching apartments there is no specific apartment mentioned on the warrant, it just says upstairs apartment. They searched both apartments and found some incriminating evidence while making these searches.
Again the warrant wasnt specific. isnt it true that a warrant (address) cant be for a whole apartment building or floor-it has to be for a specific apartment?
Do you know of specific cases that are thrown out or evidence inadmissible because of this?

It's highly fact specific though, so the precise wording of the warrant is going to be needed to go any further.

Ann, let us know when you can give us the precise wording of the warrant.