Q: If police take items not specified in the warrant, isthe search legal?
Police had a warrant to seize "Electronic Storeage Media" in search of child pornography, and took a magazine advertising a nudist colony. They claimed that someone associated with our I.P. address had downloaded child pornography. They also took an internet modem (not storeage media). Was the search legal? When they executed the warrant, they confiscated several laptops and other property. It has been two months, and we've heard nothing. How do we find out what's going on and get our stuff back?
A:
Without seeing the four corners of the search warrant, it is difficult to determine whether the police exceeded the scope of the actual warrant. When the police execute such a warrant, the computers and the related devices are submitted for forensic evaluation. These forensic evaluations can take quite some time.
In order to avoid possibly incriminating yourself, you should not interact with law enforcement yourself and should contact an experienced defense attorney to act on your behalf.
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