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E.D.Cal.: Excessive destruction of property during execution of a SW stated a claim

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Excessive and unnecessary destruction of property during execution of a search warrant states a claim for relief. Pacific Marine Ctr., Inc. v. Silva, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 110617 (E.D. Cal. November 30, 2009): "[O]fficers executing search warrants on occasion must damage property in order to perform their duty." Dalia v. United States, 441 U.S. 238, 99 S.Ct 1682, 60 L. Ed. 2d 177 (1979). "Destruction of property that is not reasonably necessary to effectively execute a search warrant may violate the Fourth Amendment." Tarpley v. Greene, 684 F.2d 1, 221 U.S. App. D.C. 227 (D.C. Cir. 1982). "The general touchstone of reasonableness which governs Fourth Amendment analysis, … governs the method of execution of [a search] warrant. Excessive or unnecessary destruction of property in the course of a search may violate the Fourth Amendment, even though the entry itself is lawful and the fruits of the search not subject to suppression...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on December 02, 2009 (boomark / email).