Documents Made And/Or Delivered During Or Subsequent To A Search

• Jurisdiction: Maryland

XII. Documents made and/or delivered during or subsequent to a search

A. Inventory made and delivered during a search

1. Fourth Amendment

In Cady v. Domrowski, 413 U.S. 433, 448-49 (1973), police obtained a warrant to search the defendant's vehicle. Police returned the warrant, but failed to state that they seized two items. The Supreme Court held that returning the warrant, without naming the items seized, did not violate the Fourth Amendment: "As [the] items were constitutionally seized, we do not deem it constitutionally significant that they were not listed in the return of the warrant. The ramification of that 'defect,' if such it was, is purely a question of state law." Id. at 449.

2. Court rules

Fed. R. Crim. P. 41(f)(1)(b) and (c) and Md. Rule 4-601(e) both require that the officer(s) who execute a search warrant must (a) prepare and sign, under oath or affirmation, a written inventory of items seized; and (b) (i) provide a copy of the inventory to the owner or occupier, if present, (ii) provide a copy of the inventory to another person, if the owner or occupier is not present, or (iii) if no one is present, leave a copy of the inventory in a conspicuous place on the premises.

In Aiken v. State, 101 Md. App. 557, 571 (1994), the Court of Special Appeals held that return of a warrant is a ministerial function, and a violation of that rule does not result in exclusion of evidence, absent prejudice or intentional and deliberate disregard of the rule.

B. Documents delivered during a search

Md. Code Ann., Crim. Proc. § 1-203(a)(2) and (e) provides that the executing officer must (1) provide the owner or occupier, if present; (2) provide to another person; or (3) leave in a conspicuous place on the premises, the following documents: (1) search warrant; (2) warrant application; (3) warrant affidavit; and (4) sworn inventory. If the affidavit is under seal, it is delivered within 15 days after it is unsealed. Md. Rule 4-601(e).

In Fitez v. State, 9 Md. App. 137, 142 (1970), the Court of Special Appeals held that failure to provide complete inventory documents does not invalidate the execution of the search warrant where the defendant was aware, from his personal observations, of what was taken; a general list given to him at that time is considered adequate. The Court noted...