Opinion ID: 1198943
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: The recovery of serology evidence from Bolin on July 18, 1995, was a constitutionally valid search.

Text: In relevant part, NRS 179.075(1) provides that [t]he warrant may be executed and returned only within 10 days after its date. On July 15, 1995, the district court authorized the search of Bolin's residence and the execution of a serology kit on Bolin. On July 16, 1995, Dets. Morgan and Tremel served and executed the search warrant at Bolin's residence. On the same date, blood was drawn from Bolin; however, Det. Tremel mistakenly used a DUI kit instead of the proper serological kit. After a representative of the district attorney's office informed the police that the July 15, 1995 search warrant was still valid, Det. Tremel obtained a second serology kit from Bolin on July 18, 1995, during which additional samples of Bolin's blood and saliva, along with samples of his head and pubic hair, were seized. Bolin argues that the State failed to properly obtain a search warrant for the recovery of the second serology kit from him on July 18, 1995. Further, because none of the exceptions necessary for a warrantless search applied, Bolin argues that the search was unconstitutional and, consequently, any evidence derived therefrom must be suppressed. In support of his argument, Bolin relies on Barlow v. Ground, 943 F.2d 1132, 1134 (9th Cir.1991), wherein police withdrew two samples of the defendant's blood, the first sample without a search warrant, but the second sample with a valid search warrant. The Ninth Circuit concluded that the police violated the Fourth Amendment by drawing the first blood sample from the defendant without a search warrant. Id. at 1137. In response, the State argues that the second serology kit obtained from Bolin on July 18, 1995, constituted a valid search because it occurred within the ten-day time period provided by NRS 179.075. In further support for its argument, the State relies on our conclusion in Smithart v. State, 86 Nev. 925, 478 P.2d 576 (1970). In Smithart, the defendant argued that a search warrant was defective because it was not executed immediately after its issuance. Id. at 929, 478 P.2d at 579. We held that the warrant was valid because it was served within the ten-day statutory time limit prescribed by NRS 179.075(1). Id. In the instant case, we conclude that Bolin's argument is belied by the plain language of NRS 179.075(1). Further, Bolin's reliance on Barlow is misplaced. Unlike the situation in that case, where police obtained the first sample of the defendant's blood without a search warrant, here, the serological kit executed on Bolin on July 16, 1995, was supported by a valid search warrant that had been signed by the district court the previous day. Accordingly, based on a plain reading of NRS 179.075 and our holding in Smithart, we conclude that the acquisition of the second serology kit from Bolin on July 18, 1995, was constitutionally valid because it was obtained within the ten-day statutory time period prescribed by NRS 179.075(1).