In Re: Order Amending Rule 205 and Revising the Comment to Rule 209 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure, In Re: Order Amending Rule 205 and Revising the Comment to Rule 209 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure

Pennsylvania Rule 205 sets mandatory contents of search warrants: issuing signature, issue date/time, specific property to be seized, particular person/place to be searched, a time limit for execution (max 2 days) or an event trigger for anticipatory warrants, daytime service presumption, return designation, probable-cause certification tied to affidavit(s), and certification when affidavits are sealed.
Rule 205 expressly allows seizure of electronic storage media and electronically stored information, authorizing later off-site review or copying consistent with the warrant; execution time limit applies to seizure, not later analysis.
The Comment clarifies that warrants must avoid general exploratory searches but should be read in a common-sense way; generic descriptions may suffice when exact descriptions are impossible.
Rule 205(4) (two-day limit or specified shorter period) is intended to prevent stale warrants and supplements supervisory case law on unreasonable delay. Anticipatory warrants are defined per Commonwealth v. Glass.
Rule 209 requires prompt return of executed or expired unexecuted warrants to the issuing authority, mandates inventories of seized items (made in the presence of the owner or a witness when feasible), signature under penalty for falsification, and delivery of inventory copies upon request; sealed affidavits require return to issuing judge.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Particularity: warrant must identify property/person/place with particularity	Warrant must list specific items/places to prevent exploratory searches	Generic descriptions may be insufficient to protect Fourth Amendment interests	Rule requires particularity but permits common-sense/generic descriptions when exactitude is impossible
Execution timing: two-day outer limit and anticipatory warrants	Short execution window prevents staleness and protects privacy	Investigative needs sometimes require longer periods or event-based execution	Warrants generally expire within two days unless a shorter period is specified; anticipatory warrants permitted when affidavit shows future occurrence of event (Glass)
Seizure of electronic evidence and later review	Warrants may seize electronic media and authorize later off-site copying/review	Concern that later review exceeds execution-time protections or scope	Rule authorizes seizure of electronic media and later review/copying so long as review is consistent with warrant; execution time applies to seizure, not review
Return/inventory & sealed affidavits	Executing officers must promptly return warrants and file inventories; sealed affidavits returned to issuing judge	Practical variances in returns or inventories could hamper accountability	Rule mandates prompt return of executed/expired warrants, inventories in owner/witness presence when feasible, and special return procedures for sealed affidavits

Commonwealth v. Matthews, 446 Pa. 65, 285 A.2d 510 (Pa. 1971) (permitting common-sense readings of warrants; generic descriptions can suffice when exactitude is impossible)
Commonwealth v. McCants, 450 Pa. 245, 299 A.2d 283 (Pa. 1973) (unreasonable delay between issuance and service may invalidate a warrant)
Commonwealth v. Glass, 562 Pa. 187, 754 A.2d 655 (Pa. 2000) (defines and approves anticipatory search warrants)