Q: My brother is a felon and they had a search and seizure warrant. The warrant states to search a trailer at the address
No where on the warrant does it state the items to be searched for. They found bullets in the trailer and proceed outside to his truck and found a gun in it. The gun belonged to my other sister. They did not take him to jail and months later they sent him paperwork to reclaim the gun. Is this illegal. Since then , almost a year after they issued a warrant for his arrest and he's in jail.
A:
First, whether the search warrant was overly broad. Possibly. His federal public defender can best assess the application and warrant. Whether looking in the truck was even authorized by the warrant. Possible suppression issue, yes.
Second, whether a delay of less than one year between finding the gun and filing a complaint in federal court. Not a very good issue unfortunately. It falls under the constitutional right to a speedy trial but the conservative judges have gutted this issue especially for delay before indictment. Your brother would have to show prejudice to the ability of his lawyer to mount a defense. I don't see it. They found a gun in his car. They will have to prove he was driving his vehicle.
The only viable issue is the warrant in my opinion. Your brother probably has a decent lawyer through the public defender office but he can hire a private attorney to defend his Felon in Possession of Firearm case.
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