California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1104

Introduced by Assembly Member Rodriguez

(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Irwin)

February 27, 2015

An act to amend Section 1524 of the Penal Code, relating to search warrants.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1104, as introduced, Rodriguez. Search warrants.

Existing law provides that a search warrant may only be issued upon probable cause, supported by affidavit, naming or describing the person to be searched or searched for, and particularly describing the property, thing, or things and the place to be searched. Existing law also states the grounds upon which a search warrant may be issued, including, among other grounds, when the property or things to be seized consist of any item or constitute any evidence that tends to show a felony has been committed, or tends to show that a particular person has committed a felony, or when there is a warrant to arrest a person.

This bill would authorize the issuance of a search warrant on the grounds that the property or things to be seized consist of an item or constitute evidence that tends to show a violation of specified crimes, including shoplifting, fraud, petty theft, receipt of stolen goods, and possession of a controlled substance, or tends to show that a particular person has committed one of those crimes.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 1524 of the Penal Code, as amended by
Section 1 of Chapter 872 of the Statutes of 2014, is amended to
read:

1524.  

(a) A search warrant may be issued upon any of the
following grounds:

(1) When the property was stolen or embezzled.

(2) When the property or things were used as the means of
committing a felony.

(3) When the property or things are in the possession of any
person with the intent to use them as a means of committing a
public offense, or in the possession of another to whom he or she
may have delivered them for the purpose of concealing them or
preventing them from being discovered.

(4) When the property or things to be seized consist of any item
or constitute any evidence that tends to show a felony has been
committed, or tends to show that a particular person has committed
a felony.

(5) When the property or things to be seized consist of evidence
that tends to show that sexual exploitation of a child, in violation
of Section 311.3, or possession of matter depicting sexual conduct
of a person under 18 years of age, in violation of Section 311.11,
has occurred or is occurring.

(6) When there is a warrant to arrest a person.

(7) When a provider of electronic communication service or
remote computing service has records or evidence, as specified in
Section 1524.3, showing that property was stolen or embezzled
constituting a misdemeanor, or that property or things are in the
possession of any person with the intent to use them as a means
of committing a misdemeanor public offense, or in the possession
of another to whom he or she may have delivered them for the
purpose of concealing them or preventing their discovery.

(8) When the property or things to be seized include an item or
any evidence that tends to show a violation of Section 3700.5 of
the Labor Code, or tends to show that a particular person has
violated Section 3700.5 of the Labor Code.

(9) When the property or things to be seized include a firearm
or any other deadly weapon at the scene of, or at the premises
occupied or under the control of the person arrested in connection
with, a domestic violence incident involving a threat to human life
or a physical assault as provided in Section 18250. This section
does not affect warrantless seizures otherwise authorized by Section
18250.

(10) When the property or things to be seized include a firearm
or any other deadly weapon that is owned by, or in the possession
of, or in the custody or control of, a person described in subdivision
(a) of Section 8102 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.

(11) When the property or things to be seized include a firearm
that is owned by, or in the possession of, or in the custody or
control of, a person who is subject to the prohibitions regarding
firearms pursuant to Section 6389 of the Family Code, if a
prohibited firearm is possessed, owned, in the custody of, or
controlled by a person against whom a protective order has been
issued pursuant to Section 6218 of the Family Code, the person
has been lawfully served with that order, and the person has failed
to relinquish the firearm as required by law.

(12) When the information to be received from the use of a
tracking device constitutes evidence that tends to show that either
a felony, a misdemeanor violation of the Fish and Game Code, or
a misdemeanor violation of the Public Resources Code has been
committed or is being committed, tends to show that a particular
person has committed a felony, a misdemeanor violation of the
Fish and Game Code, or a misdemeanor violation of the Public
Resources Code, or is committing a felony, a misdemeanor
violation of the Fish and Game Code, or a misdemeanor violation
of the Public Resources Code, or will assist in locating an
individual who has committed or is committing a felony, a
misdemeanor violation of the Fish and Game Code, or a
misdemeanor violation of the Public Resources Code. A tracking
device search warrant issued pursuant to this paragraph shall be
executed in a manner meeting the requirements specified in
subdivision (b) of Section 1534.

(13) When a sample of the blood of a person constitutes
evidence that tends to show a violation of Section 23140, 23152,
or 23153 of the Vehicle Code and the person from whom the
sample is being sought has refused an officer’s request to submit
to, or has failed to complete, a blood test as required by Section
23612 of the Vehicle Code, and the sample will be drawn from
the person in a reasonable, medically approved manner. This
paragraph is not intended to abrogate a court’s mandate to
determine the propriety of the issuance of a search warrant on a
case-by-case basis.

(14) Beginning January 1, 2016, the property or things to be
seized are firearms or ammunition or both that are owned by, in
the possession of, or in the custody or control of a person who is
the subject of a gun violence restraining order that has been issued
pursuant to Division 3.2 (commencing with Section 18100) of
Title 2 of Part 6, if a prohibited firearm or ammunition or both is
possessed, owned, in the custody of, or controlled by a person
against whom a gun violence restraining order has been issued,
the person has been lawfully served with that order, and the person
has failed to relinquish the firearm as required by law.

begin insert

(15) When the property or things to be seized consist of an item
or constitute evidence that tends to show a violation of any of the
following, or tends to show that a particular person has committed
any of the following:

end insert begin insert

(A) Shoplifting, as provided in Section 459.5.

end insert begin insert

(B) Forgery, as provided in Section 473 or 476a.

end insert begin insert

(C) Petty theft, as provided in Section 490.2.

end insert begin insert

(D) Offenses related to stolen property, as provided in Section
496.

end insert begin insert

(E) Possession of a controlled substance, as provided in Section
11350, 11357, or 11377 of the Health and Safety Code.

end insert

(b) The property, things, person, or persons described in
subdivision (a) may be taken on the warrant from any place, or
from any person in whose possession the property or things may
be.

(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (a) or (b), no search warrant
shall issue for any documentary evidence in the possession or
under the control of any person who is a lawyer as defined in
Section 950 of the Evidence Code, a physician as defined in Section
990 of the Evidence Code, a psychotherapist as defined in Section
1010 of the Evidence Code, or a member of the clergy as defined
in Section 1030 of the Evidence Code, and who is not reasonably
suspected of engaging or having engaged in criminal activity
related to the documentary evidence for which a warrant is
requested unless the following procedure has been complied with:

(1) At the time of the issuance of the warrant, the court shall
appoint a special master in accordance with subdivision (d) to
accompany the person who will serve the warrant. Upon service
of the warrant, the special master shall inform the party served of
the specific items being sought and that the party shall have the
opportunity to provide the items requested. If the party, in the
judgment of the special master, fails to provide the items requested,
the special master shall conduct a search for the items in the areas
indicated in the search warrant.

(2) (A) If the party who has been served states that an item or
items should not be disclosed, they shall be sealed by the special
master and taken to court for a hearing.

(B) At the hearing, the party searched shall be entitled to raise
any issues that may be raised pursuant to Section 1538.5 as well
as a claim that the item or items are privileged, as provided by
law. The hearing shall be held in the superior court. The court shall
provide sufficient time for the parties to obtain counsel and make
any motions or present any evidence. The hearing shall be held
within three days of the service of the warrant unless the court
makes a finding that the expedited hearing is impracticable. In that
case the matter shall be heard at the earliest possible time.

(C) If an item or items are taken to court for a hearing, any
limitations of time prescribed in Chapter 2 (commencing with
Section 799) of Title 3 of Part 2 shall be tolled from the time of
the seizure until the final conclusion of the hearing, including any
associated writ or appellate proceedings.

(3) The warrant shall, whenever practicable, be served during
normal business hours. In addition, the warrant shall be served
upon a party who appears to have possession or control of the
items sought. If, after reasonable efforts, the party serving the
warrant is unable to locate the person, the special master shall seal
and return to the court, for determination by the court, any item
that appears to be privileged as provided by law.

(d) (1) As used in this section, a “special master” is an attorney
who is a member in good standing of the California State Bar and
who has been selected from a list of qualified attorneys that is
maintained by the State Bar particularly for the purposes of
conducting the searches described in this section. These attorneys
shall serve without compensation. A special master shall be
considered a public employee, and the governmental entity that
caused the search warrant to be issued shall be considered the
employer of the special master and the applicable public entity,
for purposes of Division 3.6 (commencing with Section 810) of
Title 1 of the Government Code, relating to claims and actions
against public entities and public employees. In selecting the
special master, the court shall make every reasonable effort to
ensure that the person selected has no relationship with any of the
parties involved in the pending matter. Any information obtained
by the special master shall be confidential and may not be divulged
except in direct response to inquiry by the court.

(2) In any case in which the magistrate determines that, after
reasonable efforts have been made to obtain a special master, a
special master is not available and would not be available within
a reasonable period of time, the magistrate may direct the party
seeking the order to conduct the search in the manner described
in this section in lieu of the special master.

(e) Any search conducted pursuant to this section by a special
master may be conducted in a manner that permits the party serving
the warrant or his or her designee to accompany the special master
as he or she conducts his or her search. However, that party or his
or her designee may not participate in the search nor shall he or
she examine any of the items being searched by the special master
except upon agreement of the party upon whom the warrant has
been served.

(f) As used in this section, “documentary evidence” includes,
but is not limited to, writings, documents, blueprints, drawings,
photographs, computer printouts, microfilms, X-rays, files,
diagrams, ledgers, books, tapes, audio and video recordings, films,
and papers of any type or description.

(g) No warrant shall issue for any item or items described in
Section 1070 of the Evidence Code.

(h) Notwithstanding any other law, no claim of attorney work
product as described in Chapter 4 (commencing with Section
2018.010) of Title 4 of Part 4 of the Code of Civil Procedure shall
be sustained where there is probable cause to believe that the
lawyer is engaging or has engaged in criminal activity related to
the documentary evidence for which a warrant is requested unless
it is established at the hearing with respect to the documentary
evidence seized under the warrant that the services of the lawyer
were not sought or obtained to enable or aid anyone to commit or
plan to commit a crime or a fraud.

(i) Nothing in this section is intended to limit an attorney’s
ability to request an in camera hearing pursuant to the holding of
the Supreme Court of California in People v. Superior Court (Laff)
(2001) 25 Cal.4th 703.

(j) In addition to any other circumstance permitting a magistrate
to issue a warrant for a person or property in another county, when
the property or things to be seized consist of any item or constitute
any evidence that tends to show a violation of Section 530.5, the
magistrate may issue a warrant to search a person or property
located in another county if the person whose identifying
information was taken or used resides in the same county as the
issuing court.

(k) This section shall not be construed to create a cause of action
against any foreign or California corporation, its officers,
employees, agents, or other specified persons for providing location
information.