Editorial: Search warrant delays

Tuesday, July 20, 2004 | 8:41 a.m.

On July 8, after a neighbor reported to police that an occasional roommate of Lawrence Pruett's was dead in a freezer in the driveway of Pruett's home, Metro Police tried to find a judge to approve a search warrant so the freezer could be opened. But because it was after hours, it took more than a dozen phone calls -- and an hour and 15 minutes -- before a District Court judge could be reached. The search warrant was approved over the phone by Judge Allan Earl -- the 14th judge police tried to contact -- allowing the padlocked freezer to be pried open.

As Lt. Tom Monahan of Metro Police told the Sun, every second counts in a murder investigation. Forensic evidence, if it's not collected right away, can deteriorate, allowing a murderer to remain free, Monahan said. Monahan added that such delays are frustrating and that the kind of delay involving the opening of the freezer "was not the exception." A spokesman for District Court said, however, that the delay was unusual, noting that police have access to the judges' office phone numbers, cell phone numbers and even e-mail addresses. It is encouraging, though, that Chief Judge Kathy Hardcastle said she plans to see if there is a better way to handle police officers' urgent requests for a search warrant.

One alternative is a rotating system where each judge takes a turn at being on call. Other jurisdictions, such as Los Angeles, Phoenix and Reno, have an on-call system, a reasonable solution that we believe should be put in place here.