§ 29-815 — Search warrant; executed and returned; inventory required

(1) The warrant must be executed and returned within ten days after its date. The officer taking property under the warrant shall give to the person from whom or from whose premises the property was taken a copy of the warrant and a receipt for the property or shall leave the copy and the receipt at the place from which the property was taken. The return shall be made promptly and shall be accompanied by a written inventory of any property taken. The inventory shall be made in the presence of the applicant for the warrant and the person from whose possession or premises the property was taken if they are present, or in the presence of at least one credible witness other than the applicant for the warrant or the person from whose possession or premises the property was taken, and shall be verified by the officer. The judge or magistrate shall deliver a copy of the inventory upon request to the person from whom or from whose premises the property was taken and to the applicant for the warrant.
(2) The return and inventory required by subsection (1) of this section may be submitted to the magistrate or judge in person or by facsimile or other electronic means.

Legislative History

Source: Laws 1963, c. 161, § 4, p. 572; Laws 2015, LB294, § 14. Cross References: Fees for service, see section 33-117. Annotations: Where there was no clear showing of prejudice, an officer's failure to return a search warrant within the time limit provided by this section was purely a ministerial defect and did not render the warrant invalid. State v. Nolt, 298 Neb. 910, 906 N.W.2d 309 (2018). Irrespective of compliance with a rule or statutory time limit within which a search must be executed, a delay in the execution of a warrant may be constitutionally impermissible under the Fourth Amendment. State v. Swift, 251 Neb. 204, 556 N.W.2d 243 (1996). Failure to provide a copy of a search warrant was a purely ministerial defect that did not invalidate the warrant absent a clear showing of prejudice. State v. Svendgard, 31 Neb. App. 596, 986 N.W.2d 88 (2023). The execution of the warrant 6 days after its issuance does not require suppression of evidence obtained based on the warrant. State v. Moore, 2 Neb. App. 206, 508 N.W.2d 305 (1993).