Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Hi there. How do you prove that a search and seizure was illegal? At the time of the search & seizure, I was a grieving mom, with in my opinion, nothing to hide. The detective that came into my home with a warrant and a team, went into all my rooms and even closed the doors, opened drawers, dug into cabinets, and I did not know that they were only supposed to do what was in the open. The detective took my laptops even one that had not been used. I had just bought it for my business. I even told her that it was brand new there was nothing on it, but she coerced me into signing the paper saying if I signed it I would get my stuff back in two weeks, if not, it would be whenever that go to it. It's been 4 years and I have still not gotten my stuff back. It took the detective 2 years before she even charged me. I've been on bond for almost 2 years.


Asked on 5/27/24, 5:14 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Terry A. Nelson Nelson & Lawless

4 years?

Wow. You haven't done anything about this, or even ask anything, in 4 years?

That tells me you probably didn't get an attorney when you should have, at the time of the seizure, nor at the time of arrest?

Well, maybe better late than never, you shouldo retain an experienced criminal defense attorney, like one of us here on this panel, to review this 'mess' and determine what can and can not be done to help you. There may be issues to be raised in court, such as warrant defects, improper search, statutes of limitations, motions to suppress, motions to dismiss, lack of speedy trial, etc, etc.

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Answered on 5/28/24, 11:56 am
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

Nothing you have written suggests that the search and/or seizure were illegal. Officers executing a warrant are not limited to items that are "in the open." What the law actually says is that they aren't required to *ignore* evidence that's in the open, even if that evidence relates to a crime which has nothing to do with their investigation. To illustrate: if they're trying to find, say, a stolen big-screen television but see a bag of cocaine on your kitchen counter, they can arrest you for it even though the warrant said nothing about drugs.

The officers are forbidden to look only in places where the item(s) they're seeking cannot possibly be. Officers searching your house for that stolen TV wouldn't be allowed to go through the drawers of your desk, since the TV couldn't fit there. But if one of the drawers is already open and there is evidence of a crime in plain view inside, they can seize that evidence right away without getting a new warrant.

One more point: Aside from the laptop, you haven't described any of the "stuff" that was seized. If it includes illegal drugs (or other things you could not legally own, like a stolen TV), the officers won't give them back to you. And if you try to retrieve them, you could be arrested again for attempted drug possession. (I realize the seized items may all be perfectly legal. I offer this guidance just in case some aren't.)

Good luck.

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Answered on 5/29/24, 7:46 pm


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