Search and Seizure Legislation
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,
- The Right to Property.
Details and Implementation Plan
The LSJ 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 arrested, they are subject to immediate search of their person under the following condition:
- 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 impoundment, 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.
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 Personnel 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 citizen(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).
They must share the signed Search Warrant to the citizen(s) involved permanently via the phone documents app.
Law Enforcement Agencies, with approval from their High Command, may lock down any properties named in a Search Warrant that is being actively pending Judicial 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) days or forty-eight(48) hours from the moment a Judge/Justice from the LSJ signs the Search Warrant to execute said warrant. This means that IN TOTAL, a property may not be locked for more than 72 hours before it must be unlocked.
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.
If Law Enforcement is unable to serve a warrant in the allotted 48hrs, there will be a 24hr grace period in which a property may not be locked down again.
Should a Search Warrant and/or the findings thereof be used in criminal proceedings against an individual(s) it is within the right of the defense to contest the contents of the warrant. This must be done by entering a separate post on the docket indicating the intent to contest the Search Warrant. This contest shall be overseen by a panel of at least 1 Justice and 1 other Judges. It will be a scheduled hearing in which the Defense will first present their argument as to why the Search Warrant should be overturned after which the Prosecution will have a chance to rebut the Defense's argument. Any evidence already introduced in the criminal matter related to the Search Warrant is able to be referenced and vice versa any evidence introduced as part of the Search Warrant hearing is able to be referenced in the criminal matter. Once arguments have been made the panel will deliberate and return with 1 of 2 verdicts, those being Upheld or Overturned. An Upheld verdict meant that the Search Warrant shall remain as part of the criminal matter. An Overturned verdict means that the Search Warrant is to be removed from evidence and any evidence that was found as a result of the Search Warrant may be deemed Fruit of the Poisonous Tree stricken from the criminal matter at Judicial Discretion.
Subpoena’s of phone/bank/social media records can be submitted to LSJ by Law Enforcement Officers. Should they be granted, LEOs should expect a delay of 48 hours to receiving the information from the relevant party.
