237 Pa. Code Rule 353. Motion for Return of Property.

Rule 353. Motion for Return of Property.

A.  Return for lawful possession. A person aggrieved by a search and seizure, whether or not executed pursuant to a warrant, may move for the return of the property on the ground that he or she is entitled to its lawful possession. Such motion shall be filed in writing and served pursuant to Rule 345.
B.  Hearing. The court hearing such motion shall receive evidence on any issue of fact necessary for its decision. If the motion is granted, the property shall be restored unless the court determines that such property is contraband, in which case the court may order the property to be forfeited.
C.  Joint motion. A motion to suppress evidence under Rule 350 may be joined with a motion under this rule.

Comment

   A motion for the return of property should not be confused with a motion for the suppression of evidence, governed by Rule 350. However, if the time and effect of a motion brought under the instant rule would be, in the view of the court hearing the motion, substantially the same as a motion for suppression of evidence, the court may dispose of the motion in accordance with Rule 350.
   Nothing in this rule is intended to prohibit the court from directing a more appropriate court to hear these motions. For example, a judicial district may have a motions court or specially designed court that hears all motions, including juvenile cases.
   Pursuant to Rule 100, only motions for return of property derived from juvenile delinquency cases are appropriate for the juvenile court.

   Official Note
   Rule 353 adopted April 1, 2005, effective October 1, 2005.
   Committee Explanatory Reports:
   Final Report explaining the provisions of Rule 353 published with the Court’s Order at 35 Pa.B. 2214 (April 16, 2005).

No part of the information on this site may be reproduced for profit or sold for profit.

This material has been drawn directly from the official Pennsylvania Code full text database. Due to the limitations of HTML or differences in display capabilities of different browsers, this version may differ slightly from the official printed version.