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M.D.Fla.: Judge's failure to sign search warrant not fatal

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

A state judge’s inadvertent failure to sign the search warrant was not fatal to the search. It was apparent after the hearing that the officer appeared before the judge and the judge considered whether there was probable cause. United States v. Martin, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17639 (M.D. Fla. February 4, 2011): Here, the initial question presented by the Defendant is whether Judge Green “issued” the search warrant after she made a probable cause determination, but inadvertently failed to sign the search warrant. A number of lower courts have examined the issue of whether an unsigned search warrant is “issued” within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment with varying results, and this Circuit is silent as to the effect of an unsigned warrant...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on February 26, 2011 (boomark / email).