Legal Question in Criminal Law in New York

Re: search warrants

It all depends on what the warrant permits the police officers to search.

Re: search warrants

If the Police come to your house or business and you own a safe, depending upon what the search warrant actually states is the object of the search, your safe will be subject to search. Remember, most contraband, records, cash or other items can be stored in a safe and therefore a warrant looking for such contraband or other items will include all those areas under your dominion and control. That means your entire premises may be searched, including the safe, unless you share space with another person who is not subject to the provisions of the search warrant and the safe belongs to that person and not you. Usually the Police will take the safe if its portable, unless you offer to open it for them to see inside and assure themselves that the items they are looking for are not in the safe. Even if you give records or other items to your attorney for safe keeping, the attorney may also be compelled by a court order to disclose the items held for safe keeping. The same goes for a safety deposit box at a bank or trust company or a self storage container.