Posted: March 29, 2007
Rules of Criminal Procedure
URCrP 40. Search warrants. Amend. The changes incorporate procedural provisions from the Utah Code on search warrants. The changes also create procedures to implement the requirements of Anderson v. Taylor, 2006 UT 55. The rule requires a magistrate to retain search warrant documents from the time a search warrant is issued. The rule also addresses access to and sealing of search warrant files. Effective Date: April 30, 2007. Approved as an expedited amendment under Rule 11-101(6)(F). Subject to further change after the comment period.
Line 60: Caption refers to forwarding of record to court with jurisdiction but I don’t see that required in the rule. If that’s a requrement, it would be helpful to identify exactly what it means – is it about whether it’s filed in Justice Court v. District Court or in the County where the search takes place?
Line 62: Not sure that requiring the magistrate to “seal” the is necessarily practical. The magistrate may not be somewhere where he or she has envelopes, etc.
Line 69: Requiring the warrant to be put in a sealed envelope for 20 days is unnecessarily cumbersome. The clerks office has the ability to protect the warrants from public view when necessary and should be allowed to do so in whatever way works for that organization.
Line 122: I don’t know if they should have to go to the judge who signed the warrant if available or can go to any judge with an application to have sealed longer.