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(a) Search Warrant Issuance and Contents.
(1) A search warrant authorized by law shall issue only on
(i) (aa)00affidavit sworn to before a judge or magistrate or any person authorized to take oaths under the law of the state, or
(bb)00sworn testimony taken on the record, and
(ii) establishing the grounds for issuing the warrant.
(2) If the judge or magistrate is satisfied that grounds for the application exist or that there is probable cause to believe that they exist, the judge or magistrate shall issue a warrant
(i) identifying the property, and
(ii) naming or describing the person or place to be searched.
(3) The warrant
(i) shall be directed to a peace officer of the state authorized to enforce or assist in enforcing any law thereof, and
(ii) shall state the ground or probable cause for its issuance and the names of the persons whose affidavits have been taken in support thereof, and
(iii) shall command the officer to search the person or place named for the property specified within a reasonable period not to exceed 10 days of the issuance of the warrant, and
(iv) shall direct that it be served between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., unless the issuing authority by appropriate provision in the warrant, and for reasonable cause shown, authorizes its execution at other than this time, and
(v) shall designate the judge or the magistrate to whom it shall be returned.
(b) Execution and Return with Inventory. The warrant shall be executed and returned within 10 days after its date. However, upon sworn application made before the expiration of the initial 10 day period or any subsequent extension, the court may for good cause extend the execution period for a reasonable time not to exceed 10 days. The officer taking property under the warrant
(1) shall give to the person from whom or from whose premises the property was taken a copy of the warrant, a copy of the supporting affidavits, and receipt for the property taken, or
(2) shall leave the copies and the receipt at the place from which the property was taken.
The return shall be made promptly and shall be accompanied by a written inventory of any property taken as a result of the search pursuant to or in conjunction with the warrant. The inventory shall be made in the presence of the applicant for the warrant and the person from whose possession or premises the property was taken, if they are present, or in the presence of at least one credible person other than the applicant for the warrant or the person from whose possession or premises the property was taken, and shall be signed by the officer under the penalty of perjury pursuant to AS 09.63.020 or sworn to in front of a magistrate or judge, or a notary public. The magistrate or judge or the court to which the return is made shall upon request deliver a copy of the inventory to the person from whom or from whose premises the property was taken and to the applicant for the warrant.
(c) Motion for Return of Property and to Suppress Evidence. A person aggrieved by an unlawful search and seizure may move the court in the judicial district in which the property was seized or the court in which the property may be used for the return of the property and to suppress for use as evidence anything so obtained on the ground that the property was illegally seized.
(d) In Camera Hearing. A person who challenges the validity of a search and seizure predicated on information gained from an informant used either in
(1) support of an application for a warrant, or
(2) as the basis of a search without warrant may move the court for disclosure of the identity of the informant pursuant to Rule 16. In the event the court determines that disclosure of the identity of the informant is not required under Rule 16, the court shall conduct an in camera recorded hearing in which it shall investigate and take evidence so as to determine whether or not a search based on the informant's information was justified. Following the in camera hearing, the court shall grant or deny the motion to suppress on the record, and shall make written findings concerning the validity of the search based on the informer's information. The written findings, together with the record of the hearing, shall be sealed, and if the validity of the search is upheld the sealed testimony and findings shall, on appeal of a conviction in which evidence of the search was admitted, be transmitted to the court of appeals and the supreme court for automatic review of the motion to suppress.
(e) Confidentiality of Warrant Information.
(1) The record of proceedings under this rule and all documents related to these proceedings, including search warrants, affidavits, receipts and inventories, are confidential and must be kept sealed before a criminal proceeding is formally initiated. However, the court may order release of these documents for good cause shown.
(2) After charges are filed, the record of proceedings under this rule and all related documents are open to public inspection unless the court, for good cause shown, orders a further period in which the documents will be kept under seal.
(3) The initial charging document in all prosecutions must be accompanied by a listing of the numbers of all warrants issued in relation to the case unless the court waives this requirements for good cause shown.
(Adopted by SCO 4 October 4, 1959; amended by SCO 49 effective January 1, 1963: by Chapter 17 SLA 1969 effective June 25, 1969; by SCO 157 effective February 15, 1973; by SCO 505 effective April 16, 1982; and by SCO 645 effective September 15, 1985; by SCO 784 effective March 15, 1987; and by SCO 882 effective July 15, 1988; by SCO 968 effective July 15, 1989; by SCO 1149 effective July 15, 1994; and by SCO 1153 effective July 15, 1994)
Cross References
(a)00CROSS REFERENCES: AS 12.35.010; AS 12.35.020; AS 12.35.030
(b)00CROSS REFERENCES: AS 12.35.050; AS 12.35.080; AS 12.35.090: AS 12.35.100; AS 12.35.110
EDITOR'S NOTE: Section 43, Chapter 143, Session Laws of Alaska 1982, provides that "AS 12.35.015, added by sec. 18 of this Act [Chapter 143, Session Laws of Alaska 1982], has the effect of changing Rule 37, Rules of Criminal Procedure, by allowing search warrants to be issued upon sworn oral testimony communicated by telephone or other appropriate means."
PART IX. GENERAL PROVISIONS
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Copyright 1995-1999 by Touch N' Go Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. No copyright claim is made to the text of the rules.
Last Modified 7/14/1999
