Legal Question in Criminal Law in Maryland

A judge in Queen Anne's County signs a search warrant for an individual who resides in Anne Arundel County, yet a crime was never alleged to have been committed in Queen Anne's County. This individual then has his Anne Arundel County home searched, and he is arrested and charged in Anne Arundel County. Because the judge in Queen Anne's County signed off on the search warrant, with no crime committed or any kind of affiliation between this individual and Queen Anne's County, can the search warrant be quashed? What business would a Queen Anne's County judge have signing such a search warrant?


Asked on 9/17/10, 7:33 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
William Welch William L. Welch, III Attorney

The judge probably had authority to sign the warrant. Sometimes counties rotate the duty judge responsibility among a larger group of judges so that an individual judge does not have to be on call 24/7 for warrants. As long as the judge was a Maryland judge the state is probably on solid ground. However, the warrant may be invalid, if the police lied or withheld information from the judge, if the police acted in bad faith, if the judge acted as a "rubber stamp," or if the police exceeded the scope, e.g. They get a warrant to search your garage for a stolen car, but search inside your house in places too small for a car instead looking for drugs.

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Answered on 9/23/10, 4:36 am


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