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Report of the Director of the Administrative Office 

of the United States Courts 

on Applications for Delayed-Notice Search Warrants and Extensions

The USA Patriot Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 requires the Director of the 

Administrative Office of the United States Courts (AO) to transmit to Congress annually a full 

and complete report summarizing information reported by judges to the AO on delayed-notice 

search warrants. The report is to include the number of applications for warrants and extensions 

of warrants authorizing delayed notice and the number of such warrants and extensions granted 

or denied during the preceding fiscal year. The requirement to report this information to 

Congress began with the fiscal year ended September 30, 2007. 

This report covers applications for delayed-notice search warrants and extensions between 

October 1, 2013, and September 30, 2014. 

Reporting Requirements of the Statute

Any federal or state judge who issues or denies a federal warrant authorizing delayed notice, or 

an extension of such a warrant, is required to file a report on the warrant with the AO (18 U.S.C. 

§ 3103a(d)(1)). This report is to be furnished not later than 30 days after the expiration of the 

warrant’s notice period (including any extensions to the notice period) or 30 days after the denial 

of the warrant or the request for extension. The report must include the offense specified in the 

warrant or application, the period of delay authorized, the number and duration of any 

extensions, and the action taken on the application. 

The AO is required to report annually to Congress on the information submitted by judges for the 

preceding fiscal year. This report must include the number of applications for delayed-notice 

search warrants and extensions and the number of warrants and extensions granted or denied (18 

U.S.C. § 3103a(d)(2)). 

Summary and Analysis of Reports for Fiscal Year 2014

Summary data on applications for delayed-notice search warrants and extensions for fiscal year 

2014 are shown in Table 1. A total of 7,627 warrant requests and 5,243 requests for extensions 

were reported for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2014. Forty-three of the applications 

reported were denied, 64 of the applications were granted as modified, and the rest were granted 

as requested. 

Judges in 91 federal judicial districts reported actions on applications for delayed-notice search 

warrants or extensions. The highest numbers of applications were reported by judges in the 

District of Kansas (909), the Southern District of California (739), the Eastern District of 

Michigan (617), the Southern District of Texas (595), and the Western District of Texas (571); 

applications in these five districts accounted for over a quarter of all applications reported. Of 

the 12,870 applications reported by all districts, 12,406 (96 percent) were reported by federal 
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magistrate judges, and 458 were reported by federal district judges. Six applications were 

reported by state judges. 

The periods of delay specified ranged from 1 day to 999 days. The most frequently reported 

period of delay was 90 days, specified in 5,849 (46 percent) of the applications that were 

granted. (See Graph 1.) Requests for extensions to a delay numbered from 1 to 28, with second 

extensions being the most frequently requested in 2014. (See Graph 2.) 

Offenses

Table 2 presents the types of offenses specified in delayed-notice search warrant and extension 

requests reported in 2014. Drug offenses were specified in 83 percent of applications reported, 

followed by fraud (5 percent), sex offenses (2 percent), and extortion/racketeering (2 percent). 

 
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Table 1. Delayed-notice warrant and extension requests - fiscal year 2014

 Total 

requests 

Average 

delay 

(in days) 

Warrant 

requests Granted 

Granted 

as 

modified Denied 

Extension 

requests Granted 

Granted 

as 

modified Denied 

ALL CIRCUITS 12,870 65 7,627 7,563 38 26 5,243 5,200 26 17 

 

DC CIRCUIT 31 32 31 29 1 1 0 0 0 0 

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 31 32 31 29 1 1 0 0 0 0 

 

FIRST CIRCUIT 569 47 389 366 22 1 180 172 1 7 

MAINE 21 43 14 13 0 1 7 7 0 0 

MASSACHUSETTS 286 52 182 182 0 0 104 101 0 3 

NEW HAMPSHIRE 76 62 17 17 0 0 59 55 0 4 

RHODE ISLAND 13 69 5 5 0 0 8 8 0 0 

PUERTO RICO 173 31 171 149 22 0 2 1 1 0 

 

SECOND CIRCUIT 694 55 611 607 3 1 83 81 2 0 

CONNECTICUT 9 83 1 1 0 0 8 8 0 0 

NEW YORK (NORTHERN) 4 45 4 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 

NEW YORK (EASTERN) 65 46 52 51 1 0 13 12 1 0 

NEW YORK (SOUTHERN) 556 55 516 514 1 1 40 39 1 0 

NEW YORK (WESTERN) 46 71 27 27 0 0 19 19 0 0 

VERMONT 14 51 11 11 0 0 3 3 0 0 

 

THIRD CIRCUIT 459 56 330 330 0 0 129 129 0 0 

DELAWARE 6 50 4 4 0 0 2 2 0 0 

NEW JERSEY 87 74 42 42 0 0 45 45 0 0 

PENNSYLVANIA (EASTERN) 22 63 12 12 0 0 10 10 0 0 

PENNSYLVANIA (MIDDLE) 131 30 130 130 0 0 1 1 0 0 

PENNSYLVANIA (WESTERN) 213 64 142 142 0 0 71 71 0 0 

VIRGIN ISLANDS - - - - - - - - - - 

 

FOURTH CIRCUIT 864 46 703 703 0 0 161 161 0 0 

MARYLAND 493 45 449 449 0 0 44 44 0 0 

NORTH CAROLINA (EASTERN) 21 54 19 19 0 0 2 2 0 0 

NORTH CAROLINA (MIDDLE) 14 38 11 11 0 0 3 3 0 0 

NORTH CAROLINA (WESTERN) 163 37 109 109 0 0 54 54 0 0 

SOUTH CAROLINA 79 59 53 53 0 0 26 26 0 0 

VIRGINIA (EASTERN) 44 62 23 23 0 0 21 21 0 0 

VIRGINIA (WESTERN) 40 43 33 33 0 0 7 7 0 0 
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 Total 

requests 

Average 

delay 

(in days) 

Warrant 

requests Granted 

Granted 

as 

modified Denied 

Extension 

requests Granted 

Granted 

as 

modified Denied 

WEST VIRGINIA (NORTHERN) 3 50 1 1 0 0 2 2 0 0 

WEST VIRGINIA (SOUTHERN) 7 43 5 5 0 0 2 2 0 0 

 

FIFTH CIRCUIT 1,671 68 1,117 1,103 7 7 554 550 2 2 

LOUISIANA (EASTERN) 84 30 84 84 0 0 0 0 0 0 

LOUISIANA (MIDDLE) 21 49 11 9 0 2 10 8 0 2 

LOUISIANA (WESTERN) 84 69 40 40 0 0 44 44 0 0 

MISSISSIPPI (NORTHERN) 15 54 7 7 0 0 8 8 0 0 

MISSISSIPPI (SOUTHERN) 18 37 15 14 1 0 3 3 0 0 

TEXAS (NORTHERN) 258 56 211 210 1 0 47 47 0 0 

TEXAS (EASTERN) 25 57 14 14 0 0 11 11 0 0 

TEXAS (SOUTHERN) 595 94 387 380 4 3 208 206 2 0 

TEXAS (WESTERN) 571 55 348 345 1 2 223 223 0 0 

 

SIXTH CIRCUIT 2,006 64 968 966 1 1 1,038 1,033 4 1 

KENTUCKY (EASTERN) 32 34 26 25 0 1 6 2 4 0 

KENTUCKY (WESTERN) 222 68 68 68 0 0 154 153 0 1 

MICHIGAN (EASTERN) 617 74 208 208 0 0 409 409 0 0 

MICHIGAN (WESTERN) 41 72 21 21 0 0 20 20 0 0 

OHIO (NORTHERN) 439 73 177 176 1 0 262 262 0 0 

OHIO (SOUTHERN) 465 47 329 329 0 0 136 136 0 0 

TENNESSEE (EASTERN) 86 48 68 68 0 0 18 18 0 0 

TENNESSEE (MIDDLE) 78 52 52 52 0 0 26 26 0 0 

TENNESSEE (WESTERN) 26 48 19 19 0 0 7 7 0 0 

 

SEVENTH CIRCUIT 601 66 401 401 0 0 200 199 0 1 

ILLINOIS (NORTHERN) 205 75 151 151 0 0 54 54 0 0 

ILLINOIS (CENTRAL) 23 56 12 12 0 0 11 11 0 0 

ILLINOIS (SOUTHERN) 132 79 37 37 0 0 95 95 0 0 

INDIANA (NORTHERN) 36 43 33 33 0 0 3 3 0 0 

INDIANA (SOUTHERN) 88 51 77 77 0 0 11 10 0 1 

WISCONSIN (EASTERN) 106 55 91 91 0 0 15 15 0 0 

WISCONSIN (WESTERN) 11 90 0 0 0 0 11 11 0 0 

 

EIGHTH CIRCUIT 983 71 559 558 0 1 424 421 0 3 

ARKANSAS (EASTERN) 49 52 36 36 0 0 13 13 0 0 

ARKANSAS (WESTERN) 19 49 13 13 0 0 6 6 0 0 

IOWA (NORTHERN) 24 142 18 18 0 0 6 6 0 0 
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 Total 

requests 

Average 

delay 

(in days) 

Warrant 

requests Granted 

Granted 

as 

modified Denied 

Extension 

requests Granted 

Granted 

as 

modified Denied 

IOWA (SOUTHERN) 78 48 56 56 0 0 22 22 0 0 

MINNESOTA 241 61 129 129 0 0 112 112 0 0 

MISSOURI (EASTERN) 151 93 62 62 0 0 89 86 0 3 

MISSOURI (WESTERN) 250 53 130 129 0 1 120 120 0 0 

NEBRASKA 121 45 69 69 0 0 52 52 0 0 

NORTH DAKOTA 27 351 26 26 0 0 1 1 0 0 

SOUTH DAKOTA 23 81 20 20 0 0 3 3 0 0 

 

NINTH CIRCUIT 2,451 73 1,328 1,312 4 12 1,123 1,112 10 1 

ALASKA 40 52 29 26 0 3 11 10 1 0 

ARIZONA 419 73 184 184 0 0 235 235 0 0 

CALIFORNIA (NORTHERN) 146 62 74 74 0 0 72 71 1 0 

CALIFORNIA (EASTERN) 180 46 146 146 0 0 34 34 0 0 

CALIFORNIA (CENTRAL) 327 65 214 207 1 6 113 113 0 0 

CALIFORNIA (SOUTHERN) 739 88 262 256 3 3 477 468 8 1 

HAWAII 29 87 25 25 0 0 4 4 0 0 

IDAHO 7 64 5 5 0 0 2 2 0 0 

MONTANA 24 58 21 21 0 0 3 3 0 0 

NEVADA 65 68 40 40 0 0 25 25 0 0 

OREGON 14 47 14 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 

WASHINGTON (EASTERN) 122 86 78 78 0 0 44 44 0 0 

WASHINGTON (WESTERN) 174 70 122 122 0 0 52 52 0 0 

GUAM 165 55 114 114 0 0 51 51 0 0 

NORTHERN MARIANAS - - - - - - - - - - 

 

TENTH CIRCUIT 1,660 70 723 721 0 2 937 937 0 0 

COLORADO 542 57 311 311 0 0 231 231 0 0 

KANSAS 909 80 255 253 0 2 654 654 0 0 

NEW MEXICO 167 60 120 120 0 0 47 47 0 0 

OKLAHOMA (NORTHERN) 13 47 13 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 

OKLAHOMA (EASTERN) 17 65 13 13 0 0 4 4 0 0 

OKLAHOMA (WESTERN) - - - - - - - - - - 

UTAH 1 30 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 

WYOMING 11 91 10 10 0 0 1 1 0 0 

 

   
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 Total 

requests 

Average 

delay 

(in days) 

Warrant 

requests Granted 

Granted 

as 

modified Denied 

Extension 

requests Granted 

Granted 

as 

modified Denied 

ELEVENTH CIRCUIT 881 73 467 467 0 0 414 405 7 2 

ALABAMA (NORTHERN) 20 81 5 5 0 0 15 15 0 0 

ALABAMA (MIDDLE) 25 30 24 24 0 0 1 1 0 0 

ALABAMA (SOUTHERN) 5 31 5 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 

FLORIDA (NORTHERN) 68 73 60 60 0 0 8 8 0 0 

FLORIDA (MIDDLE) 97 59 45 45 0 0 52 52 0 0 

FLORIDA (SOUTHERN) 302 67 162 162 0 0 140 140 0 0 

GEORGIA (NORTHERN) 339 90 148 148 0 0 191 182 7 2 

GEORGIA (MIDDLE) 4 51 3 3 0 0 1 1 0 0 

GEORGIA (SOUTHERN) 21 33 15 15 0 0 6 6 0 0 
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Table 2. Offenses specified for delayed-notice warrant and extension requests - fiscal year 2014 

 Reports Warrants Extensions 

 Offense Number Percent* Number Percent* Number Percent* 

Total 12,870 100% 7,627 100% 5,243 100% 

 

Drugs 10,706 83% 5,982 78% 4,724 90% 

Fraud 598 5% 408 5% 190 4% 

Sex Offenses 303 2% 261 3% 42 - 

Extortion / Racketeering 238 2% 146 2% 92 2% 

Fugitive / Escape 178 - 172 2% 6 - 

Weapons 136 - 117 2% 19 - 

Immigration 119 - 77 - 42 - 

Theft 116 - 93 - 23 - 

Other 87 - 67 - 21 - 

Unknown 60 - 47 - 13 - 

Robbery 57 - 51 - 6 - 

Murder 46 - 41 - 5 - 

Terrorism 38 - 28 - 10 - 

Smuggling 38 - 19 - 19 - 

Gambling 36 - 25 - 11 - 

Obstruction 27 - 23 - 4 - 

Counterfeit 25 - 20 - 5 - 

Tax 24 - 23 - 1 - 

Kidnapping 22 - 21 - 0 - 

Wildlife 16 - 6 - 10 - 

 

* Percentages not shown where the percentage is less than 2%. 

 
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Graph 1. Periods of delayed notice - fiscal year 2014 

Graph 2. Numbers of extensions requested - fiscal year 2014 

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

30 60 90 180 Other

Number of applications

Period of delay authorized, in days

Periods of Delayed Notice

Extensions

Warrants

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8+

Frequency

Number of extensions

Numbers of Extensions Requested