Opinion ID: 2265520
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: the warrant

Text: In concluding that the warrant was not sufficiently particular, the trial judge focused on the quality of the description of the premises to be searched. [2] The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution requires that . . . no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause . . . and particularly describing the place to be searched . . . Similarly, Article I, Section 8 of the Pennsylvania Constitution provides that . . . no warrant to search any place . . . shall issue without describing [it] as nearly as may be . . . [3] This requirement of particularity necessarily achieves definition according to the circumstances and nature of the items to be seized; a common sense approach must be utilized. As the Comment to Pa.R.Crim.P. 2005(c), which incorporates the constitutional particularity requirement, states in pertinent part, Paragraph [] . . . (c) [is] intended to proscribe general or exploratory searches by requiring that searches be directed only toward the specific . . . places set forth in the warrant. Such warrants should, however, be read in a common sense fashion and should not be invalidated by hypertechnical interpretations. . . . See also, Commonwealth v. Crawford, 320 Pa.Super. 95, 466 A.2d 1079 (1983); Commonwealth v. Barba, 314 Pa.Super. 210, 460 A.2d 1103 (1983); In Interest of Eckert, 260 Pa.Super. 161, 393 A.2d 1201 (1978). Thus, challenges to the specificity of the warrant have been rejected in cases where only a street address was supplied, or where a general description of the building to be searched was provided. See e.g., Commonwealth v. Menginie, 312 Pa.Super. 293, 458 A.2d 966 (1983) (Warrant authorizing search of 214 North Linden and its garage upheld); Commonwealth v. Chamberlain, 277 Pa.Super. 503, 419 A.2d 1261 (1980) (Warrant permitting search of Conrad Store In Conrad, of the East fork district in Eulalia Township, R.D. 1, Austin, Pa., said building is a two-story structure painted white, located on the north side of Leg. route 52001 sufficiently specific); Commonwealth v. Mayfield, 262 Pa. Super. 96, 396 A.2d 662 (1978) (Description of premises as 549 West 10th Street, Erie, Pennsylvania. A 2 1/2 white aluminum sided multi-unit dwelling, the front door is on the east side of the residence facing north, the downstairs apartment. Has grey steps leading to the porch sufficiently particular.) In each of these cases, this Court found that probable cause to believe that the premises as described were the scenes of criminal activity, or that evidence of a crime could be found therein, existed. Cf., United States v. Busk, 693 F.2d 28 (3d Cir. 1982) (Warrant authorizing entry into all apartments in multi-dwelling house does not satisfy the Fourth Amendment's particularity requirement when probable cause has been shown for search of only one of them.) Where, then, the description provided is precise enough to enable the executing officer to ascertain and identify, with reasonable effort, the place intended, and where probable cause exists to support the search of the area so designated, a warrant will not fail for lack of particularity. In the instant case, neither Attorney Voss nor appellee contested the magistrate's finding of probable cause to search Voss' office, and the offices of the law firm with which he is associated, nor would such a contention have had merit. As averred in the affidavit in support of the warrant, both appellee and his wife informed the Commonwealth's investigators that all of the items listed in the search warrant had been transferred to the attorney's possession; the affiant further alleged that Attorney Voss himself confirmed these statements. The mere fact that the search was directed only toward seizure of the records of one of Voss' clients is not dispositive. The investigators could reasonably assume that, as a member of the law firm, Voss would have access to many areas within the firm's office; an individual attorney would not be confined to his or her own office. Furthermore, apart from conversations with the Gartleys and Voss, the investigators had no legitimate means of gathering information relevant to limiting the scope of the warrant, prior to its execution. In light of the confidential nature of the firm's activities, the investigators could not browse through the firm, observing Voss' movements, particularly since he was not the target of the investigation. Since the Commonwealth's agents were provided with no additional information reasonably suggesting a narrower drafting of this aspect of the warrant, and had no means at their disposal for acquiring such information, the futility of greater specification is clear. Thus, we conclude that the description of the area to be searched here was not overbroad. [4] See United States v. Lebovitz, 506 F.Supp. 249 (W.D.Pa. 1980), aff'd on other grounds, 669 F.2d 894 (3d Cir. 1982), cert. den., 456 U.S. 929, 102 S.Ct. 1979, 72 L.Ed.2d 446 (1982) (Warrant specifying only street address and city in which attorney's office was located did not violate Fourth Amendment's particularity requirement.) [5] The manner in which a search is conducted is, of course, as vital a part of the inquiry as whether it was warranted at all. The Fourth Amendment proceeds as much by limitation upon the scope of governmental action as by imposing preconditions upon its initiation. Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 899 (1968). See also Commonwealth v. Eliff, 300 Pa.Super. 423, 446 A.2d 927 (1982). Thus, the Commonwealth urges our consideration of the record below with respect to the attempted execution of the warrant, in ascertaining whether the description of the premises falls within constitutionally permissible limits. The scope of the warrant was restricted in practical effect, the Commonwealth argues, in that (1) initially, several requests that the materials be voluntarily surrendered were made, and (2) before it was interrupted, the search was limited to Attorney Voss' office and to a file, distinguishable in appearance from other visible files and bearing no name or other identifying mark. We may not, however, rely on these representations, given that no factual record was made in the trial court. Rather, the record contains only allegations made during the course of argument on the propriety of the warrant. Nonetheless, because the warrant is not impermissibly broad on its face, and there has been no finding that its aborted execution encompassed an unnecessarily broad area, we conclude that the trial court erred in characterizing the search thereby authorized as unconstitutionally overbroad.