(a) In General. The court or justice of the peace may, upon request of the applicant, allow a search warrant request to be made outside the presence of the court or justice of the peace if the court or justice of the peace determines it to be a reasonable request under the circumstances.(b) Procedures to be Applied. If the court or justice of the peace allows the applicant to make the search warrant request outside the presence of the court or justice of the peace the following procedures apply:
(1) The request must be in the form of a written affidavit transmitted by reliable electronic means to the court or justice of the peace. The contents of the affidavit must conform to Rule 41(e)(2). The applicant, by telephone or other reliable electronic means, must attest to its contents, and the court or justice of the peace must acknowledge the attestation in writing on the affidavit. Before ruling on the request the court or justice of the peace may hear evidence under oath or affirmation by telephone or other reliable means that shall be taken down by a court reporter or recording equipment, or otherwise recorded in a manner that is capable of producing a record adequate for purposes of review.(2) In addition to the written affidavit the applicant shall prepare a proposed search warrant and transmit it by reliable electronic means to the court or the justice of the peace. The contents of the warrant must conform to Rule 41(f)(2) or, when applicable, Rule 41B(a)(1) or 41B(b)(2). The transmission received by the court or justice of the peace may serve as the original.(3) If the court or justice of the peace is satisfied that there is probable cause to believe that the grounds for the search exist, the court or justice of the peace shall sign the proposed search warrant or a modified version, enter the date and time of issuance on the warrant, and transmit it by reliable electronic means to the applicant. A copy of the issued search warrant shall promptly be filed with the Unified Criminal Docket designated in the warrant by the applicant.(c) Suppression Limited. Absent a finding of bad faith, evidence obtained from a warrant issued under this Rule is not subject to suppression on the ground that issuing the warrant in this manner was unreasonable under the circumstances.
