Search & Seizure

December 19, 2024

Legislation,State Law

Introduction

It is understood that some citizens of San Andreas might try and undertake actions or possess property that is illegal to have. While everyone deserves to be protected from undue search and seizures of their personal property, vehicles, and private space, there will be circumstances in which these protections must be breached for the greater common good of the population.

Constitutional Justification

Every citizen of San Andreas is granted the following rights; The Right to Dignity, the Right to Privacy, and the Right to Property. To perform a search and/or seizure of property that a person possesses outside of an arrest, there must be valid legal reasons presented to balance these rights with public safety. A citizen who has committed a crime or violated the law may find certain protections adjusted, as these rights are designed to protect citizens from undue encroachment by others.

Details and Implementation Plan

The San Andreas Department of Justice will outline how a Search & Seizure of personal property can be performed and in what circumstances a Search Warrant may not be needed. If a citizen is detained or arrested, they are subject to immediate search of their person under the following conditions; that they are being searched subject to transport and/or arrest to document their possessions, that there is sufficient probable cause they might be in possession of illegal items as defined per the penal code, and/or they need to be identified as a suspect of a potential crime. Vehicles in operation and/or are in constructive possession of a citizen during the commission of a crime, or vehicles that are subject to impound, are subject to search without a Search Warrant. This is because vehicles can be moved and evidence can be destroyed before a signed Search Warrant can be obtained.

Search Warrant as written in this legislation refers to a Search & Seizure Warrant, Subpeona of phone/bank records, Search of Electronic Devices, or notebooks and other personal effects.

A Search Warrant must contain the following to be approved to justify temporarily limiting a Citizens Right to Privacy; a statement of articulable probable cause from a sworn Law Enforcement Officer detailing the crime(s) the individual is accused or suspected of committing, and a statement of articulable probable cause explaining why the list of properties should be searched and why Law Enforcement seek to search them.

The Law Enforcement Officer should give reasonable information to support the possibility that the evidence in question could be found in the properties to be searched. This information may come from the Officers personal observations, or from that of a verifiable informant. If the warrant lacks accurate information of what is to be searched, it shall be denied.

Law Enforcement Officers may perform searches of a person for officer and/or medical personnel safety when there are articulable concerns or sufficient probable cause that the individual was involved in a crime and could be armed, should said person need to be transported for medical care in a government-operated vehicle. Citizens are within their right to refuse this search, but under this circumstance Law Enforcement Officers and Medical Personel are not required to transport or treat them any further.

Absent probable cause with exigency, searches of real and private property will require a duly issued and executed Search Warrant.

Plain Sight is a specific exemption to the Search & Seizure Legislation. If a Law Enforcement Officer witnesses an illegal item or circumstance from either a public space or in the execution of their Search Warrant, the scope of a warrant can be expanded to include these illegal items. This means that if a Law Enforcement Officer is executing a Search Warrant for illegal weapons and finds drugs or other contraband, it can be included and seized as part of the Search Warrant.

Additionally, phones and their contents shall be considered personal property protected by the Constitution of San Andreas. Absent exigent circumstances, a Law Enforcement Officer is required to obtain a signed Search Warrant to review the contents of a phone or SIM Card, unless the phone or SIM card was abandoned and/or not in use by the original owner.

Law Enforcement Agencies and their officers are able to make special requests for Search Warrants as follows:

Sealing: When personal names or records are withheld from the record in the interest of protecting citizens involved in the proceedings.
Night Raid: Execution of a Search Warrant without the primary citzen(s) in custody of Law Enforcement Agencies
Delayed Notice: Allowing extra time before the notification of a signed Search Warrant is sent to citizen(s).

It is the sole purview of the reviewing Judge/Justice to approve or deny these conditions. Law Enforcement Agencies are required to notify the citizen(s) named in a Search Warrant within a seventy-two (72) hour time period of executing the warrant unless Delayed Notice is granted, at which point this time period shall fall under the Delayed Notice time. They must share the signed Search Warrant to the citizen(s) involved permanently via the phone documents app. Law Enforcement Agencies may lock down any properties, garages, and assets named in a Search Warrant that is being actively written or pending approval.

Search Warrants must be submitted to a Judge or Justice and must bear the signature of a ranking member of the Law Enforcement Command Structure as well as a signature from the officer that wrote the warrant. These two signatures must not be the same name. Searches conducted under a Search Warrant approved by a duly authorized Judge or justice shall be considered lawful. A citizen may provide permission to Law Enforcement to search their property without a signed Search Warrant, provided this permission is documented. Law Enforcement Agencies that received a signed Search Warrant shall have no more than two (2) weeks or fourteen (14) days from the moment a Judge/Justice from the San Andreas Department of Justice signs the Search Warrant to execute said warrant.This does not mean the properties remain on lockdown for 2 weeks. Law Enforcement Officers must execute a signed Search and Seizure Warrant as soon as possible with allowance for delays based on organizational capacity, manpower, and other reasonable circumstances that could necessitate a delay. Once the raid is conducted, the house is to be released from lockdown as soon as is safely and logistically possible.

Investigative Warrants are similar to a Search & Seizure warrant in that they follow the same approval process. They allow for the usage of enhanced surveillance and investigative methods by Law Enforcement Agencies. A Law Enforcement Officer must provide probable cause for the necessary measures they are requesting in their Investigative Warrant. An Investigative Warrant must be signed by a Judge/Justice to be valid. An Investigative Warrant shall be valid for thirty (30) days after its signing.

Conclusion

We hope that this legislation will provide a clear understanding to all citizens of San Andreas, and ensure that Law Enforcement Officers have a clear understanding of what is required of them to perform their job.