united-states criminal-law us-constitution search-and-seizure pardon
Can a Presidential pardon nullify a search warrant?
<p>Where the US government has seized private property pursuant to a search warrant in a criminal investigation, what would happen to that property if the President were to pardon the suspect(s) under investigation?</p>

<p>Must it be returned immediately (perhaps before investigators have had an opportunity to examine it), or could the investigators continue their examination unimpeded?  To put it another way, does the pardoning of a suspect necessarily halt all investigative activity into the pardoned crimes and effectively nullify any extant search warrants?</p>

<p>If the item is contraband, it will not be returned. Despite the pardon, the item may also be subject to civil forfeiture (for example if the item is proceeds from a drug sale). The item may also be kept as evidence in a different criminal or civil case, either involving the accused person, or for the very same crime involving another party. There is one condition under which an item taken under a search warrant must be returned immediately, and that is if a competent judge orders the immediate return of the item, which would require the pardoned person to petition for release of the item (and that takes time). The warrant is still valid (assuming it was legal to start with), and a pardon does not render a search warrant illegal.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>To put it another way, does the pardoning of a suspect necessarily halt all investigative activity into the pardoned crimes and effectively nullify any extant search warrants?</p>
</blockquote>

<p><em>Necessarily</em> halt all investigative activity? </p>

<p>No.</p>

<p>On a practical level, if there are no plausible remaining criminal targets, a pardon might make an investigation effectively meaningless, but it would still be up to prosecutors to make that determination, and to keep or return in the materials in accordance with their own policies and practices.</p>

<p>Even if the President pardoned one person (can we call him "Mike"?), prosecutors could still:</p>

<ol>
<li>Charge Mike with other federal crimes that <em>weren't</em> included in the pardon (unless it was a "blanket" pardon)</li>
<li>Refer Mike to criminal prosecution for State-level offenses, if any are found</li>
<li>Investigate related criminal matters of involved persons other than Mike</li>
<li>Refer financial or business related anomalies to the appropriate agencies (IRS, FTC, etc.)</li>
<li>Attempt to compel Mike to testify against other defendants (Mike's pardon renders moot his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination).</li>
</ol>
