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Rule 4-601 – Search Warrants

May 13, 2021 | Criminal Prodcedure, Maryland

(a) Authority to Issue; Title 5 Inapplicable. A search warrant may issue only as authorized by law. Title 5 of these Rules does not apply to the issuance of a search warrant.
(b) Submission of Application.

(1)Method of Submission. An applicant may submit an application for a search warrant by (A) delivery of three copies of (i) the application, (ii) a supporting affidavit, and (iii) a proposed search warrant in person or by secure facsimile; or (B) transmission of those documents to the judge by secure and reliable electronic mail that permits the judge to print the complete text of the documents. If the documents are transmitted electronically the proposed warrant shall be sent in an electronic text format specified by the State Court Administrator, and the judge shall print and retain a copy of the documents.
(2)Request for Sealing Affidavit. The application may include a request that the affidavit be sealed pursuant to Code, Criminal Procedure Article, § 1-203(e).
(3)Discussion about Application. Upon receipt of an application, the judge may discuss it with the applicant in person or by telephone, video conferencing, or other electronic means.

Committee note: A discussion between the applicant and the judge may be explanatory in nature but may not be for the purpose of adding or changing any statement in the affidavit that is material to the determination of probable cause. Probable cause must be determined from the four corners of the affidavit. See Abeokuto v. State, 391 Md. 289, 338 (2006); Valdez v. State, 300 Md. 160, 168 (1984) (The four-corners rule “prevents consideration of evidence that seeks to supplement or controvert the truth of grounds stated in the affidavit.”).

(c) Issuance of Search Warrant. The judge may issue a search warrant by (1) signing the warrant and recording on it the date and time of issuance, and (2) delivering the signed and dated warrant, along with a copy of the application and affidavit, to the applicant in person, by secure facsimile, or by transmission of those documents by secure and reliable electronic mail that permits the applicant to print the complete text of the documents.
(d) Retention of Application and Affidavits–Secrecy.

(1) A search warrant shall be issued with all practicable secrecy. The judge may seal a supporting affidavit for up to 30 days, subject to one 30-day extension as provided in Code, Criminal Procedure Article, § 1-203(e).
(2) A judge who issues a search warrant shall retain a copy of the application, affidavit, and warrant until the warrant is returned, executed or unexecuted, pursuant to section (g) or (h) of this Rule. Upon return of an executed warrant, the judge shall comply with section (g). If the signed and dated warrant was transmitted to the applicant by electronic mail, the printed copy retained by the judge, upon its filing pursuant to section (g), shall be the original. A warrant, application, or affidavit shall not be filed with the clerk prior to its return to the judge pursuant to section (g) or (h).
(e) Executed Warrant–Inventory; Copy.

(1) An officer shall make, verify, and sign a written inventory of all property seized under a search warrant, including a general description of electronically stored information received pursuant to the warrant in electronic, disk, paper, or other form.
(2) At the time the warrant is executed, the officer executing the warrant shall leave with the person from whom the property was taken or, if that person is not present, an authorized occupant of the premises from which the property was taken (A) a copy of the search warrant and application, (B) a copy of the supporting affidavit, except an affidavit that has been sealed pursuant to section (d) of this Rule, and (C) a copy of the inventory.
(3) Subject to subsections (e)(2) and (e)(4) of this Rule, if the person from whom the property was taken and an authorized occupant of the premises from which the property was taken are not present at the time the search warrant is executed, the copies shall be left in a conspicuous place at the premises from which the property was taken.
(4) If a copy of the supporting affidavit was not left because it was under seal, a copy shall be delivered to the person from whom the property was taken or, if that person is not present, to an authorized occupant of the premises from which the property was taken within 15 days after the affidavit is unsealed.
(f) Executed Warrant–Return.

(1) An officer who executes a search warrant shall prepare a detailed search warrant return, which shall include the date and time of the execution of the warrant and a verified inventory.
(2) The officer shall deliver the return to the judge who issued the warrant or, if that judge is not immediately available, to another judge of the same circuit, if the warrant was issued by a circuit court judge, or of the same district, if the warrant was issued by a District Court judge, as promptly as possible and, in any event, (A) within ten days after the warrant was executed, or (B) within any earlier time set forth in the warrant. The return shall be accompanied by the executed warrant and the verified inventory.
(3) Delivery of the return, warrant, and verified inventory may be in person, by secure facsimile, or by secure electronic mail that permits the judge to print the complete text of the documents.
(4) If the return is made to a judge other than the judge who issued the warrant, the officer shall notify the issuing judge of when and to whom the return was made, unless it is impracticable to give such notice.
(5) The officer shall deliver a copy of the return to an authorized occupant of the premises searched or, if such a person is not present, leave a copy of the return at the premises searched.
(g) Executed Warrant–Filing With Clerk. The judge to whom an executed search warrant is returned shall attach to the warrant the return, the verified inventory, and all other papers in connection with the issuance, execution, and return, including the copies retained by the issuing judge, and shall file them with the clerk of the court for the county from which the warrant was issued. The papers filed with the clerk shall be sealed and shall be opened for inspection only upon order of the court. The clerk shall maintain a confidential index of the search warrants.
(h) Unexecuted Warrants.

(1) A search warrant is valid for 15 days from the date it was issued and may be served only within that time. After the expiration of 15 days, the warrant is void.

Cross reference: See Code, Criminal Procedure Article, § 1-203(a)(4).

(2) A search warrant that becomes void under subsection (h)(1) of this Rule shall be returned to the judge who issued it. The judge may destroy the warrant and related papers or make any other disposition the judge deems proper.
(i) Inspection of Warrant, Inventory, and Other Papers.

(1) The following persons may file an application under this section:

(A) a person from whom or from whose premises property is taken under a search warrant;
(B) a person having an interest in the property taken; and
(C) a person aggrieved by the search or seizure.
(2) Upon the filing of the application, the clerk shall send a copy of the application to the State’s Attorney.
(3) Except for papers then under seal or subject to a protective order, upon an application filed under subsection (i)(1) of this Rule, the court shall order that the warrant, inventory, and other related papers filed with the clerk be made available to the person or that person’s attorney for inspection and copying.
(j) Prohibited Disclosures; Contempt.

(1) Except for disclosures required for the execution of a search warrant or directed by this Rule or by order of court issued pursuant to this Rule:

(A) a person may not disclose that a search warrant has been applied for or issued prior to execution of the warrant, and
(B) a public officer or employee, may not disclose the contents of a search warrant or the contents of any other paper filed with it, even after execution of the warrant, except as authorized by a judge.
(2) Any person who violates this section may be prosecuted for criminal contempt of court.

Md. Crim. Causes. 4-601

This Rule is derived from former Rule 780 and M.D.R. 780.

Adopted April 6, 1984, eff. July 1, 1984. Amended June 28, 1988, eff. July 1, 1988; June 28, 1989, eff. July 1, 1989; Dec. 15, 1993, eff. July 1, 1994; Jan. 8, 2002, eff. Feb. 1, 2002; March 2, 2015, eff. July 1, 2015; Dec. 13, 2016, eff. Apr. 1, 2017.

HISTORICAL NOTES

2002 Orders

The January 8, 2002, order, in section (b), updated references to the Criminal Procedure Article; and amended the cross reference following section (a).

2015 Orders

The March 2, 2015 order reorganized this Rule by changing the tagline of and removing the cross reference after section (a); added a new section (b) that provides for the methods of submission of applications for search warrants, for an opportunity to request that warrants be sealed, and for a discussion of the application using certain types of communication; added a cross reference after section (b) to certain cases pertaining to changing the affidavit accompanying the warrant; added a new section (c) that provides certain methods of issuance of a search warrant and has language from former section (b); deleted from section (d) certain language and added to section (d) new language providing for a 30-day extension for sealing the warrant, modified language addressing when certain papers are required to be retained, and a requirement designating the original of an electronically transmitted warrant; changed section (e) to expand the procedure for the officer’s inventory of property seized, to add a certain exception for the papers that are to be left by the officer executing the warrant, and to change a certain term; added to section (f) language expanding the procedure for the officer making and delivering a return; made stylistic changes to section (g); added to section (h) language pertaining to the validity of a search warrant; added to section (i) language changing how the State’s Attorney is notified and certain exceptions to the availability of the search warrant and other papers; changed the tagline of section (j) and added language to section (j) that provides certain limits on disclosure of the fact that a search warrant has been applied for; and made stylistic changes.

2016 Orders

The December 13, 2016, order deleted the second sentence of subsection (f)(3) and changed the location for filing an executed search warrant and the papers associated with it.