Nelson v. State, 312 Ga. 375

On Oct. 15, 2017, Cobb County police executed a warrant at Corey Nelson’s residence and seized an iPhone, a Samsung phone, and a laptop; Nelson was arrested the same day and indicted in Jan. 2018 for murder and related charges.
On Jan. 18, 2018, law enforcement obtained separate warrants to search the contents of each seized device, but the department’s Technology Based Crimes Unit (TBCU) did not complete forensic extractions until Feb. 6, 2019 (iPhone), Jan. 8, 2020 (Samsung), and Jan. 9, 2020 (laptop).
The trial court initially granted Nelson’s suppression motion (Feb. 4, 2020), finding noncompliance with OCGA § 17-5-25 (warrants void if not executed within ten days), prompting law enforcement to obtain new warrants on Feb. 7, 2020.
The TBCU extracted data pursuant to the new Feb. 7, 2020 warrants within ten days; the trial court thereafter denied Nelson’s renewed suppression motion, concluding the delay between seizure and the 2020 searches did not violate the Fourth Amendment.
On interlocutory appeal, Nelson argued the more-than-two-year delay between seizure (Oct. 2017) and forensic searches (2020) unreasonably infringed his possessory and Fourth Amendment rights; the Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether a >2-year delay between lawful seizure and later forensic searches violated Nelson's Fourth Amendment rights	Nelson: the lengthy delay unreasonably intruded on his possessory interest and required suppression of data	State: strong evidentiary interest, 2020 warrants supported by probable cause and executed within 10 days; Nelson’s possessory interest was diminished by continuous incarceration and by not requesting return	Court held delay did not render the 2020 searches unconstitutional; affirmed denial of suppression
Whether the 2020 warrants were properly issued and executed within statutory time	Nelson: earlier warrants and delays raise questions about validity of subsequent searches (procedural defects)	State: 2020 warrants were supported by probable cause and executed within ten days; returns and execution were proper	Court found 2020 warrants properly issued and executed and did not need to decide broader questions about the 2018 warrants or statutory issues

United States v. Jacobsen, 466 U.S. 109 (delay or subsequent acts can render an otherwise lawful seizure a Fourth Amendment violation)
State v. Rosenbaum, 305 Ga. 442 (adopted a four-factor balancing test for delay between seizure and warranted search of property)
United States v. Mitchell, 565 F.3d 1347 (11th Cir.) (reasonableness inquiry for delays in searching seized items)
United States v. Laist, 702 F.3d 608 (11th Cir.) (discussing balancing governmental and possessory interests when delay occurs)
United States v. Sullivan, 797 F.3d 623 (9th Cir.) (incarceration can diminish possessory interests in seized property)
Segura v. United States, 468 U.S. 796 (plurality) (discussing possession and use of seized property and implications for Fourth Amendment claims)