Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

search warrents

I have a detective working on a petty theft for me, my ex stole my hard drive making me think he was fixing my pc, he packed his things and left a day later...when asked to return it he hung up on me, and when a friend asked for it he said it was at him parents home elsewhere...the detective will be serving a search warrant on him, where he lives with friends, he is into drugs as well, and have many other stolen things in their possession..my question is what if they do not find my hard drive there, will they proceed to investigate his parents? or what if they find him high or drugs around..what will happen then...i have tried to have a restraining order served but the sheriff cant get in the gate..so it will come back to me unserved..i am hoping that the detective while there will serve it for me, I dont know if this is his policy or not..lots of questions...thanks..


Asked on 2/28/03, 6:28 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Robert Miller Robert L. Miller & Associates, A Law Corporation

Re: search warrents

Thank you for your posting.

Typically, a detective can only get a search warrant by showing "probable cause" to a magistrate or judge, and even then, the judge has to limit the scope of the warrant to the least intrusive means to get the information requested.

If the parents live in the same place, they may be subject to having their areas searched, depending upon the warrant. They may be excluded from the warrant, however, and that makes it difficult to predict without seeing the warrant, what might happen.

I hope that this information helps, but if you have other questions, want more information, or feel that you need legal representation, please feel free to email me directly at [email protected]. I�m happy to help in any way that I can.

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Answered on 3/03/03, 3:04 am


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