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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, 2009, and September 30, 2010. 

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 2010

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

2010 are shown in Table 1. A total of 2,395 warrant requests and 1,575 requests for extensions

were reported for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2010. Twenty of the applications reported

were denied, 48 of the applications were granted as modified, and the rest were granted as

requested.

Judges in 72 federal judicial districts reported actions on applications for delayed-notice search

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

Southern District of California (368), the Southern District of Texas (353), and the Northern

District of Georgia (324); applications in these three districts accounted for over a quarter of all

applications reported. Of the 3,970 applications reported, 3,855 (97 percent) were reported by

federal magistrate judges and 115 were reported by federal district judges. No applications were

reported by state judges.
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The periods of delay specified ranged from 1 day to 455 days. The most frequently reported

period of delay was 90 days, specified in 2,034 (51 percent) of the applications that were

granted. (See Graph 1.) Extensions to the period of delay numbered from one to 14, with one

being the most frequently reported number of extensions. (See Graph 2.) 

Offenses

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

requests reported in 2010. Drug offenses were specified in 76 percent of applications reported,

followed by extortion/racketeering (4 percent) and fraud (3 percent).
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Table 1. Delayed-notice warrant and extension requests – fiscal year 2010

Total

requests

Average

delay 

(in days)

Warrant

requests Granted

Granted

as

modified Denied

Extension

requests Granted

Granted

as

modified Denied

ALL CIRCUITS 3970 65 2395 2356 23 16 1575 1546 25 4

FIRST CIRCUIT 199 49 153 147 5 1 46 43 3 0

MAINE 30 50 21 21 0 0 9 8 1 0

MASSACHUSETTS 95 40 71 71 0 0 24 24 0 0

NEW HAMPSHIRE 23 76 14 14 0 0 9 7 2 0

PUERTO RICO 51 53 47 41 5 1 4 4 0 0

SECOND CIRCUIT 347 46 251 249 1 1 96 94 2 0

CONNECTICUT 5 90 5 5 0 0 0 0 0 0

NEW YORK (EASTERN) 105 50 68 67 1 0 37 37 0 0

NEW YORK (NORTHERN) 24 59 11 11 0 0 13 12 1 0

NEW YORK (SOUTHERN) 166 43 150 149 0 1 16 15 1 0

NEW YORK (WESTERN) 41 35 14 14 0 0 27 27 0 0

VERMONT 6 40 3 3 0 0 3 3 0 0

THIRD CIRCUIT 100 56 82 82 0 0 18 18 0 0

DELAWARE 2 53 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0

NEW JERSEY 35 55 30 30 0 0 5 5 0 0

PENNSYLVANIA (EASTERN) 2 60 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0

PENNSYLVANIA (MIDDLE) 26 37 21 21 0 0 5 5 0 0

PENNSYLVANIA (WESTERN) 35 72 30 30 0 0 5 5 0 0

FOURTH CIRCUIT 233 49 181 179 2 0 52 52 0 0

MARYLAND 37 56 33 32 1 0 4 4 0 0

NORTH CAROLINA (EASTERN) 63 60 40 39 1 0 23 23 0 0

NORTH CAROLINA (MIDDLE) 53 35 44 44 0 0 9 9 0 0

NORTH CAROLINA (WESTERN) 49 38 47 47 0 0 2 2 0 0

SOUTH CAROLINA 11 35 9 9 0 0 2 2 0 0

VIRGINIA (EASTERN) 19 74 7 7 0 0 12 12 0 0

WEST VIRGINIA (SOUTHERN) 1 30 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

FIFTH CIRCUIT 463 76 213 204 7 2 250 247 3 0

LOUISIANA (WESTERN) 16 92 13 13 0 0 3 3 0 0

TEXAS (EASTERN) 1 30 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

TEXAS (NORTHERN) 31 64 28 28 0 0 3 3 0 0

TEXAS (SOUTHERN) 353 77 146 137 7 2 207 204 3 0

TEXAS (WESTERN) 62 72 25 25 0 0 37 37 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

SIXTH CIRCUIT 414 53 282 281 1 0 132 132 0 0

KENTUCKY (EASTERN) 10 57 6 5 1 0 4 4 0 0

MICHIGAN (EASTERN) 241 65 151 151 0 0 90 90 0 0

MICHIGAN (WESTERN) 12 40 10 10 0 0 2 2 0 0

OHIO (NORTHERN) 21 60 16 16 0 0 5 5 0 0

OHIO (SOUTHERN) 83 45 69 69 0 0 14 14 0 0

TENNESSEE (EASTERN) 25 47 19 19 0 0 6 6 0 0

TENNESSEE (MIDDLE) 22 63 11 11 0 0 11 11 0 0

SEVENTH CIRCUIT 170 68 139 139 0 0 31 31 0 0

ILLINOIS (CENTRAL) 2 30 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0

ILLINOIS (NORTHERN) 2 30 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0

INDIANA (NORTHERN) 24 58 15 15 0 0 9 9 0 0

INDIANA (SOUTHERN) 50 38 45 45 0 0 5 5 0 0

WISCONSIN (EASTERN) 92 89 76 76 0 0 16 16 0 0

EIGHTH CIRCUIT 129 69 56 55 1 0 73 73 0 0

ARKANSAS (EASTERN) 3 50 2 2 0 0 1 1 0 0

IOWA (SOUTHERN) 3 50 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0

MINNESOTA 53 74 15 14 1 0 38 38 0 0

MISSOURI (EASTERN) 12 67 7 7 0 0 5 5 0 0

MISSOURI (wESTERN) 57 66 28 28 0 0 29 29 0 0

NEBRASKA 1 73 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

NINTH CIRCUIT 1052 74 572 563 3 6 480 460 16 4

ARIZONA 246 79 89 85 0 4 157 153 2 2

CALIFORNIA (CENTRAL) 123 60 71 69 0 2 52 38 12 2

CALIFORNIA (EASTERN) 21 39 19 19 0 0 2 2 0 0

CALIFORNIA (NORTHERN) 36 80 10 10 0 0 26 25 1 0

CALIFORNIA (SOUTHERN) 368 76 234 234 0 0 134 133 1 0

GUAM 4 75 1 1 0 0 3 3 0 0

HAWAII 111 90 44 44 0 0 67 67 0 0

IDAHO 9 43 5 5 0 0 4 4 0 0

NEVADA 52 57 34 34 0 0 18 18 0 0

OREGON 47 81 38 35 3 0 9 9 0 0

WASHINGTON (EASTERN) 6 63 5 5 0 0 1 1 0 0

WASHINGTON (WESTERN) 29 47 22 22 0 0 7 7 0 0

TENTH CIRCUIT 263 68 130 130 0 0 133 133 0 0

COLORADO 7 73 6 6 0 0 1 1 0 0

KANSAS 228 70 102 102 0 0 126 126 0 0

NEW MEXICO 22 38 16 16 0 0 6 6 0 0

OKLAHOMA (EASTERN) 1 30 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

OKLAHOMA (NORTHERN) 1 30 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

UTAH 4 45 4 4 0 0 0 0 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 487 75 247 238 3 6 240 240 0 0

ALABAMA (MIDDLE) 17 85 17 17 0 0 0 0 0 0

ALABAMA (NORTHERN) 41 39 33 33 0 0 8 8 0 0

FLORIDA (MIDDLE) 8 47 8 8 0 0 0 0 0 0

FLORIDA (NORTHERN) 5 90 2 2 0 0 3 3 0 0

FLORIDA (SOUTHERN) 55 69 26 23 3 0 29 29 0 0

GEORGIA (MIDDLE) 22 90 19 13 0 6 3 3 0 0

GEORGIA (NORTHERN) 324 81 130 130 0 0 194 194 0 0

GEORGIA (SOUTHERN) 15 57 12 12 0 0 3 3 0 0

DC CIRCUIT 113 57 89 89 0 0 24 23 1 0

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 113 57 89 89 0 0 24 23 1 0
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Table 2. Offenses specified for delayed-notice warrant and extension requests – fiscal year 2010

Reports Warrants Extensions

Offense Number Percent* Number Percent* Number Percent*

Total 3970 100% 2395 100% 1575 100%

Drugs 3034 76% 1764 74% 1270 81%

Extortion/Racketeering 166 4% 79 3% 87 6%

Fraud 115 3% 90 4% 25 2%

Weapons 86 2% 49 2% 37 2%

Fugitive/Supervised

 Release Violation

47 - 47 2% 0 -

Immigration 39 - 22 - 17 -

Terrorism 37 - 21 - 16 -

IEEPA** 36 - 16 - 20 -

Robbery/Carjacking 34 - 25 - 9 -

Sex Offense/Forced Labor 33 - 29 - 4 -

Theft/Embezzlement 27 - 19 - 8 -

Murder 21 - 17 - 4 -

Smuggling/Contraband 18 - 15 - 3 -

Computer 16 - 9 - 7 -

Food & Drug 14 - 14 - 0 -

Kidnapping 13 - 11 - 2 -

Currency 13 - 5 - 8 -

Conspiracy 11 - 11 - 0 -

Gambling 10 - 7 - 3 -

Bribery 8 - 2 - 6 -

Counterfeit 7 - 5 - 2 -

Treason 7 - 5 - 2 -

Threats 6 - 4 - 2 -

Perjury 4 - 0 - 4 -

Other 28 - 21 - 7 -

Unspecified 140 4% 108 5% 32 2%

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

** International Emergency Economic Powers Act, 50 U.S.C. § 1701-1707.
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Graph 1. Periods of delayed notice – fiscal year 2010

Graph 2. Total numbers of extensions – fiscal year 2010