Opinion ID: 1456188
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Scope of the search and seizure

Text: Hall asserts the officers exceeded the scope of authority given them by the warrant because the officers did not know with certainty that the engine seized was in fact the stolen engine. The officers executing the warrant went to Hall's residence, as set out in the affidavit; went directly to Hall's 1972 black Chevrolet pickup bearing a vehicle identification number of CKE142J143091 and Wyoming license plate 17-T-CHEV; opened the hood of the pickup; and searched for the orange 350 cubic inch engine with chrome valve covers. The officers searched nowhere else, nor did they search for anything other than the described engine. Thus, it was not a general search, but rather was a specific, particularized search based upon the authority given to them in the search warrant. See Bland, 803 P.2d at 859 (it is the warrant that gives the authority to conduct the search, and there is no claim that the officers searched a place other than the one particularly described in the warrant). Having found that the district court did not err in denying Hall's motion to suppress and did not err in concluding that the warrant and the search and seizure were properly executed, we hold that Hall's Fourth Amendment rights were not violated. Because we hold as such, we decline to address the issue regarding the good faith exception to a faulty or invalid search warrant.