search warrant questions

[beachblonde]

Kansas

I believe I may have been served with a fake search warrant.

Shouldnt a valid search warrant have a case number on it? (mine did not)

Should it be numbered or stamped with an embossed seal in order to insure it is authentic? (mine did not)

Should a search warrant state the specific name of the officer that gave the affidavit to the judge. (mine did not)

The search warrant states that for specific items named for seizure see attachment B. Only there is no attachment B left with me.

sloppy police or fake warrant? what do you think?

 

[Some Random Guy]

If evidence seized during the search is going to be used against you in court, have your lawyer address these procedural issues. He should be able to determine if all of the information was filled out properly and if the search exceeded the scope allowed by the warrant.

I would find it highly incredulous that the police would make a fake warrant and then rely on that warrant during a court case. The fake document would be trivially easy to uncover as bogus merely by asking the judge if he really signed it.

 

[CavemanLawyer]

Search warrants do not have cause numbers on them. In most cases there is no charge filed at the time the warrant is issued or even executed.

I suppose Kansas could have some strange law requiring a seal or emblem on a warrant, but I wouldn't count on it.

It is possible that this is a sealed search warrant (used for various reasons) in which case the affadavit and any attachments to the warrant will not be presented to you at the time of the search. The warrant will be unsealed and you will be able to see it all once charges are filed.

 

[CdwJava]

I believe I may have been served with a fake search warrant.

As was pointed out, why rely on a phony warrant when it is easily discovered at trial?

Shouldnt a valid search warrant have a case number on it? (mine did not)

Not necessarily.

Should it be numbered or stamped with an embossed seal in order to insure it is authentic? (mine did not)

Not necessarily. Where I live and work, they are signed by the judge but not necessarily stamped by the court clerk. Many of our warrants are obtained outside the courtroom - sometimes in the judge's living room.

Should a search warrant state the specific name of the officer that gave the affidavit to the judge. (mine did not)

Not on the warrant, no. That information should be on the affidavit.

The search warrant states that for specific items named for seizure see attachment B. Only there is no attachment B left with me.

That might be a procedural issue, but i doubt that it would invalidate the warrant. If your attorney is not jumping up and down doing cartwheels, then it's not likely a problem.

sloppy police or fake warrant? what do you think?

Neither.

- Carl

 

[beachblonde]

thanks you guys are really a lot of help!