Opinion ID: 781489
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Service of the Affidavit in Support of Probable Cause

Text: 17 It is not disputed that Zavacky served Celestine with the face sheet of the warrant and all the attachments incorporated into the warrant and necessary to satisfy the requirements of the Fourth Amendment. We conclude that this is all that is required under Rule 41. Rule 41(f)(3) 5 provides that the officer executing the warrant must: (A) give a copy of the warrant and a receipt for the property taken to the person from whom, or from whose premises, the property was taken; or (B) leave a copy of the warrant and receipt at the place where the officer took the property. Fed.R.Crim.P. 41. We have held clearly that Rule 41 must be interpreted in the light of the policies that underlie the warrant requirement: providing the property owner assurance of the lawful authority of the executing officer, his need to search, and the limits of his power to search. See Gantt, 194 F.3d at 990; see also United States v. Chadwick, 433 U.S. 1, 9, 97 S.Ct. 2476, 53 L.Ed.2d 538 (1977), abrogated on other grounds, California v. Acevedo, 500 U.S. 565, 111 S.Ct. 1982, 114 L.Ed.2d 619 (1991). To comport with Rule 41, the government must serve a complete copy of the warrant at the outset of the search. Gantt, 194 F.3d at 990. 18 Here, the important policies that underlie the warrant requirement were satisfied by the elements of the warrant that Zavacky served on Celestine during the search. The face sheet and attachments provided sufficient indicia of the agents' lawful authority to conduct the search, what and where they legally could search, and the crimes for which evidence was sought: The face sheet of the warrant clearly stated that a magistrate judge had found probable cause for the search, thus indicating the agents' legal authority. See Gantt, 194 F.3d at 990-91. The limits of that authority were set out by Attachment A and Attachment B that stated, with particularity, where the agents could search and what they could seize. Id. The attachments also provided Celestine with adequate notice of the purpose of the search by specifying the federal crimes that were suspected and for evidence of which the search was conducted. 19 This conclusion does not detract from our cases holding that affidavits that delineate the authority to search and the location and items covered by the search are part of a warrant and must be served at the time the search is conducted. See United States v. McGrew, 122 F.3d 847, 849-50 (9th Cir.1997). However, if the face sheet and attachments clearly state that the agents have lawful authority to conduct the search and specify the location to be searched and the items sought, the affidavit supporting the probable cause determination need not be served at the time of the search. In this case, the face sheet and attachments satisfy these requirements. 20 Celestine has raised no pressing policy or other consideration that might weigh in favor of a contrary conclusion. There is little, in practical terms, that an individual can do to challenge peaceably the sufficiency of a showing of probable cause at the time a search is being conducted. By contrast, the law provides assurances that the issue may be determined after a search. The question of whether a warrant was supported by probable cause may be raised, as here, by a motion to suppress in the court that tries any criminal case that relies on evidence obtained in the search. It may also be challenged in a civil action arising out of an alleged illegal search. 21 Here, the service of the affidavit after the search did not prejudice any of Celestine's rights and did not violate the requirements of Rule 41.