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Papers: the search journal
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Papers

Photograph the pages, with a guide to the four things on the warrant.

For you and the lawyer. Don’t mail it into a jail: mail inside is opened and read.

Agents have to leave a copy of the warrant and a receipt for what they took.1 Find the papers, but don’t read anything yet. Photograph every page first, so nothing gets lost or out of order.

1 Photograph every page

  • One page per photo, front and back, in the order you found them.
  • Lay each page flat, with all four corners in the picture.
  • Turn the lights on. Skip the flash, so there is no glare.

2 Find the four things

Later, the lawyer will look at four things on these papers. This drawing shows where they usually are, so you can make sure each one is in your photos.

Where the four things are on a federal search warrantA drawing of the standard federal search and seizure warrant, form AO 93. On the front page, box 1 is where the place to be searched is described, often "See Attachment A". Box 2 is where the property to be seized is described, often "See Attachment B". Box 3 is the line "execute this warrant on or before" a date, not more than 14 days, with two boxes: in the daytime, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., or at any time in the day or night. Below the front page are three more sheets: Attachment A, the place; Attachment B, the items; and the Return, where the inventory of the property taken is written. That inventory or a separate receipt is thing number 4.AO 93 (Rev. 11/13)UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTIn the Matter of the Search ofCase No.SEARCH AND SEIZURE WARRANTPROPERTY TO BE SEARCHEDSee Attachment APROPERTY TO BE SEIZEDSee Attachment BEXECUTE ON OR BEFORE(not to exceed 14 days)in the daytime 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.at any time in the day or nightJudge’s signature123ATTACHMENT AThe place1ATTACHMENT BThe items2RETURNInventory of theproperty taken4

1Attachment A: the place

Where they were allowed to search. On the front of the warrant, the first box often just says “See Attachment A”. That is a page stapled behind it that describes the place.

2Attachment B: the items

What they were allowed to take. The second box on the front often says “See Attachment B”, a list stapled behind the warrant.

3The deadline and the daytime box

When they were allowed to do it. Look for “execute this warrant on or before” and a date. A warrant has to be carried out within a set time of no more than 14 days.2 Under that line are two boxes: “in the daytime 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.” or “at any time in the day or night”. A search has to happen in the daytime unless the judge allowed another time for good cause.3

4The receipt

The list of what they took. It may be a separate sheet, or the warrant’s second page, headed “Return”, with a space for the “Inventory of the property taken”. This is the list you compare with what was in the house.

Fig. A-1A drawing based on the standard federal form, AO 93,5 not a real warrant. Some agencies and districts use their own papers, so yours may look different. If you can’t find one of the four things, photograph everything and let the lawyer look.

§ Sources

  1. Fed. R. Crim. P. 41(f)(1)(C). Back
  2. Fed. R. Crim. P. 41(e)(2)(A)(i), (ii). Back
  3. Fed. R. Crim. P. 41(a)(2)(B). Back
  4. Fed. R. Crim. P. 41(f)(1)(D). Back
  5. Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, form AO 93, Search and Seizure Warrant (Rev. 11/13), uscourts.gov. Back

Nothing you put in here leaves this phone unless you send it yourself.

Educational information from a paralegal, not legal advice. Talk to a lawyer about your own case.

Surviving the Feds is not a law firm and never provides legal advice. Everything here is for educational purposes only, drawn from lived experience and years of paralegal work in federal criminal cases. Using this site or app does not create an attorney-client relationship. Bilal Khan is not a lawyer. Nothing in the legal world is guaranteed, so talk to a lawyer about your own case.