Benton, KY asked in Criminal Law for Kentucky

Q: Can the whole case be thrown out?

The search warrant wasn't notarized at all but it wasn't signed until the day after the search warrant was already executed and issued.

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1 Lawyer Answer
James L. Arrasmith
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  • Criminal Law Lawyer
  • Sacramento, CA

A: Based on the details provided, there are good grounds to argue the entire criminal case should be thrown out and evidence suppressed in Kentucky due to an invalid search warrant:

- In order for a search warrant to be valid under Kentucky law, it must be properly signed and sworn to by the affiant (usually a police officer) in the presence of a notary public or other authorized officer.

- Notarizing after the fact does not comply with requirements and essentially makes the warrant improperly executed from the outset.

- Courts in KY have ruled that search warrants lacking proper notarization at the time of issuance are invalid on their face.

- Any evidence obtained during execution of an improperly notarized warrant must be suppressed under the exclusionary rule since there was no valid probable cause justification.

- Suppressing all evidence effectively ends the case since the prosecution has nothing left to present that was obtained properly.

- The purpose of notarization requirements is to ensure truthfulness and accountability in the warrant process which was undermined here.

So in summary, the defective notarization provides strong grounds to challenge the admissibility of all evidence stemming from the search warrant and request dismissal of charges. A criminal defense lawyer can file the proper suppression motions citing KY case precedents invalidating such warrants. It should result in the case being tossed out entirely.

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