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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 ending September 30, 2007.

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

October 1, 2015, and September 30, 2016.

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 2016

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

2016 are shown in Table 1. A total of 9,191 warrant requests and a total of 6,050 requests for 

extensions were reported for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2016. Thirty-five of the 

applications reported were denied, 42 of the applications were granted as modified, and 15,164 

were granted as requested.

Judges in 92 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

Northern District of Illinois (1,186), the District of Oregon (851), the Eastern District of

Michigan (845), the Western District of Texas (783), the Northern District of Ohio (674); and

the District of Maryland (635); applications in these six districts accounted for a third of all

applications reported. Of the 15,241 applications reported by all districts, 13,824 (91 percent) 

were reported by federal magistrate judges, and 1,412 were reported by federal district judges.
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Five 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 30 days, specified in 6,913 (45 percent) of the applications that were

granted (see Graph 1). Requests for extensions to a delay numbered from 1 to 91, with first

extensions being the most frequently requested in 2016 (see Graph 2).

Offenses

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

requests reported in 2016. Drug offenses were specified in 82 percent of applications reported,

followed by fraud (4 percent), extortion/racketeering (3 percent), sex offenses (2 percent),

weapons (2 percent), and fugitive/escape (2 percent).
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Table 1. Delayed-Notice Warrant and Extension Requests for 12-Month Period Ending September 30, 2016

Total 

Requests

Average 

Delay 

(in 

Days)

Warrant 

Requests Granted

Granted 

as 

Modified Denied

Extension 

Requests Granted

Granted 

as 

Modified Denied

ALL CIRCUITS 15,241 84 9,191 9,140 33 18 6,050 6,024 9 17

DC CIRCUIT 50 73 25 21 3 1 25 25 0 0

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 50 73 25 21 3 1 25 25 0 0

FIRST CIRCUIT 742 66 525 501 23 1 217 210 1 6

MAINE 64 64 40 39 0 1 24 23 1 0

MASSACHUSETTS 421 63 315 315 0 0 106 100 0 6

NEW HAMPSHIRE 99 56 31 31 0 0 68 68 0 0

RHODE ISLAND 64 86 47 47 0 0 17 17 0 0

PUERTO RICO 94 60 92 69 23 0 2 2 0 0

SECOND CIRCUIT 812 82 744 743 0 1 68 67 1 0

CONNECTICUT 20 100 18 18 0 0 2 2 0 0

NEW YORK (NORTHERN) 66 60 65 65 0 0 1 1 0 0

NEW YORK (EASTERN) 254 103 202 201 0 1 52 51 1 0

NEW YORK (SOUTHERN) 376 113 373 373 0 0 3 3 0 0

NEW YORK (WESTERN) 40 56 31 31 0 0 9 9 0 0

VERMONT 56 60 55 55 0 0 1 1 0 0

THIRD CIRCUIT 325 52 239 239 0 0 86 86 0 0

DELAWARE 15 55 8 8 0 0 7 7 0 0

NEW JERSEY 51 56 24 24 0 0 27 27 0 0

PENNSYLVANIA (MIDDLE) 83 30 80 80 0 0 3 3 0 0

PENNSYLVANIA (WESTERN) 171 60 123 123 0 0 48 48 0 0

VIRGIN ISLANDS 5 60 4 4 0 0 1 1 0 0

FOURTH CIRCUIT 1,201 87 1,053 1,052 1 0 148 148 0 0

MARYLAND 635 86 597 597 0 0 38 38 0 0

NORTH CAROLINA (EASTERN) 38 131 36 36 0 0 2 2 0 0

NORTH CAROLINA (MIDDLE) 7 30 7 7 0 0 0 0 0 0

NORTH CAROLINA (WESTERN) 217 70 201 201 0 0 16 16 0 0

SOUTH CAROLINA 186 75 124 124 0 0 62 62 0 0

VIRGINIA (EASTERN) 39 162 24 24 0 0 15 15 0 0

VIRGINIA (WESTERN) 28 101 21 20 1 0 7 7 0 0

WEST VIRGINIA (NORTHERN) 47 100 39 39 0 0 8 8 0 0

WEST VIRGINIA (SOUTHERN) 4 30 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0

FIFTH CIRCUIT 1,525 70 1,076 1,073 2 1 449 446 1 2

LOUISIANA (EASTERN) 132 60 115 115 0 0 17 17 0 0

LOUISIANA (MIDDLE) 9 30 9 9 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

LOUISIANA (WESTERN) 51 60 35 35 0 0 16 16 0 0

MISSISSIPPI (NORTHERN) 9 80 6 6 0 0 3 3 0 0

MISSISSIPPI (SOUTHERN) 18 60 15 15 0 0 3 3 0 0

TEXAS (NORTHERN) 164 46 157 157 0 0 7 7 0 0

TEXAS (EASTERN) 4 60 3 3 0 0 1 1 0 0

TEXAS (SOUTHERN) 355 157 274 273 1 0 81 80 1 0

TEXAS (WESTERN) 783 76 462 460 1 1 321 319 0 2

SIXTH CIRCUIT 2,137 90 1,171 1,171 0 0 966 965 1 0

KENTUCKY (EASTERN) 25 70 18 18 0 0 7 7 0 0

KENTUCKY (WESTERN) 211 58 117 117 0 0 94 94 0 0

MICHIGAN (EASTERN) 845 41 465 465 0 0 380 380 0 0

MICHIGAN (WESTERN) 39 96 28 28 0 0 11 11 0 0

OHIO (NORTHERN) 674 205 246 246 0 0 428 427 1 0

OHIO (SOUTHERN) 240 160 205 205 0 0 35 35 0 0

TENNESSEE (EASTERN) 55 60 49 49 0 0 6 6 0 0

TENNESSEE (MIDDLE) 25 60 24 24 0 0 1 1 0 0

TENNESSEE (WESTERN) 23 60 19 19 0 0 4 4 0 0

SEVENTH CIRCUIT 1,610 72 644 644 0 0 966 965 0 1

ILLINOIS (NORTHERN) 1,186 65 333 333 0 0 853 852 0 1

ILLINOIS (CENTRAL) 23 55 5 5 0 0 18 18 0 0

ILLINOIS (SOUTHERN) 93 60 46 46 0 0 47 47 0 0

INDIANA (NORTHERN) 22 105 20 20 0 0 2 2 0 0

INDIANA (SOUTHERN) 227 75 193 193 0 0 34 34 0 0

WISCONSIN (EASTERN) 53 105 42 42 0 0 11 11 0 0

WISCONSIN (WESTERN) 6 38 5 5 0 0 1 1 0 0

EIGHTH CIRCUIT 936 98 534 534 0 0 402 401 1 0

ARKANSAS (EASTERN) 25 80 23 23 0 0 2 2 0 0

ARKANSAS (WESTERN) 57 60 40 40 0 0 17 17 0 0

IOWA (NORTHERN) 7 60 4 4 0 0 3 3 0 0

IOWA (SOUTHERN) 156 112 103 103 0 0 53 53 0 0

MINNESOTA 104 80 39 39 0 0 65 65 0 0

MISSOURI (EASTERN) 90 90 34 34 0 0 56 56 0 0

MISSOURI (WESTERN) 238 99 127 127 0 0 111 111 0 0

NEBRASKA 225 56 133 133 0 0 92 91 1 0

NORTH DAKOTA 30 213 27 27 0 0 3 3 0 0

SOUTH DAKOTA 4 127 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0

NINTH CIRCUIT 3,723 91 2,058 2,041 3 14 1,665 1,654 3 8

ALASKA 11 100 7 7 0 0 4 4 0 0

ARIZONA 509 81 203 200 0 3 306 304 0 2
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Total 

Requests

Average 

Delay 

(in 

Days)

Warrant 

Requests Granted

Granted 

as 

Modified Denied

Extension 

Requests Granted

Granted 

as 

Modified Denied

CALIFORNIA (NORTHERN) 115 167 89 88 1 0 26 25 1 0

CALIFORNIA (EASTERN) 301 69 216 216 0 0 85 85 0 0

CALIFORNIA (CENTRAL) 490 91 319 315 0 4 171 165 1 5

CALIFORNIA (SOUTHERN) 501 103 325 324 1 0 176 175 1 0

HAWAII 21 90 14 14 0 0 7 7 0 0

IDAHO 56 67 39 39 0 0 17 17 0 0

MONTANA 97 100 81 75 0 6 16 16 0 0

NEVADA 17 55 12 12 0 0 5 5 0 0

OREGON 851 106 385 385 0 0 466 466 0 0

WASHINGTON (EASTERN) 162 99 93 92 0 1 69 69 0 0

WASHINGTON (WESTERN) 380 81 180 179 1 0 200 200 0 0

GUAM 212 60 95 95 0 0 117 116 0 1

TENTH CIRCUIT 1,122 62 610 610 0 0 512 511 1 0

COLORADO 519 53 272 272 0 0 247 247 0 0

KANSAS 322 60 99 99 0 0 223 222 1 0

NEW MEXICO 156 75 125 125 0 0 31 31 0 0

OKLAHOMA (NORTHERN) 6 60 6 6 0 0 0 0 0 0

OKLAHOMA (EASTERN) 7 60 7 7 0 0 0 0 0 0

OKLAHOMA (WESTERN) 6 49 6 6 0 0 0 0 0 0

UTAH 98 54 90 90 0 0 8 8 0 0

WYOMING 8 86 5 5 0 0 3 3 0 0

ELEVENTH CIRCUIT 1,053 60 507 506 1 0 546 546 0 0

ALABAMA (NORTHERN) 9 60 8 8 0 0 1 1 0 0

ALABAMA (MIDDLE) 35 55 34 34 0 0 1 1 0 0

ALABAMA (SOUTHERN) 12 38 11 10 1 0 1 1 0 0

FLORIDA (NORTHERN) 73 54 54 54 0 0 19 19 0 0

FLORIDA (MIDDLE) 57 71 37 37 0 0 20 20 0 0

FLORIDA (SOUTHERN) 368 86 216 216 0 0 152 152 0 0

GEORGIA (NORTHERN) 492 101 140 140 0 0 352 352 0 0

GEORGIA (MIDDLE) 6 60 6 6 0 0 0 0 0 0

GEORGIA (SOUTHERN) 1 14 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

STATE 5 30 5 5 0 0 0 0 0 0

STATE 5 30 5 5 0 0 0 0 0 0
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Table 2. Offenses Specified for Delayed-Notice Warrant and Extension Requests for 12-Month Period Ending 

September 30, 2016

Reports Warrants Extensions

Offense Number Percent* Number Percent* Number Percent*

Total 15,241 100% 9,191 100% 6,050 100%

Drugs 12,439 82% 7059 77% 5380 89%

Fraud 582 4% 451 5% 131 2%

Extortion / Racketeering 401 3% 190 2% 211 3%

Sex Offenses 362 2% 279 3% 83

Weapons 286 2% 260 3% 26

Fugitive / Escape 245 2% 229 2% 16

Other 188 62 5 

Immigration 157 120 37

Theft 143 121 22

Robbery 130 107 23

Terrorism 71 66 5

Obstruction 43 31 12

Unspecified 39 24 15

Kidnapping 37 26 11

Smuggling 32 14 18

Conspiracy 23 18 5

Tax 22 15 7

Wildlife 21 15 6

Contraband 20 12 8

* Percentages less than 2% not shown.
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Graph 1. Periods of Delayed Notice During 12-Month Period Ending September 30, 2016

Graph 2. Numbers of Extensions Requested During 12-Month Period Ending September 30, 2016