When you’re in business, the last thing you want or expect is for law enforcement to show up with a search warrant. What do you do? What if law enforcement shows up when you or upper management are not there?

Search warrants are executable immediately. Being prepared, knowing the process and understanding your rights can reduce the trauma, anxiety, and disruption to your business that accompanies such an event.

Be prepared and understand your rights. This will make the process quicker and less stressful.

• Designate one or more high-level office representatives who can provide a calm and cooperative presence, who know how to handle the situation, and who will minimize office drama.

• Inform your employees of who to contact if a search warrant is executed at the business and a designated representative is not present. Consider holding a training session to help your key employees be prepared.

• Employees have the right not to answer any questions, but if they choose to do so, encourage them to have a company representative present, which is their right. If employees are contacted for an interview away from the job site, and they wish to answer questions, encourage them to do so at the job site during work hours with a company representative present.

• Consider consulting your attorney to design and implement a search and seizure plan specific and appropriate to your business.

When law enforcement knocks on your door with a valid search warrant, your designated representative should:

• Ask for identification, business cards, and a copy of the warrant. If no search warrant is presented or available, ask the officers to leave but do NOT get in their way if they insist on entering and searching.

• Contact your attorney and have him/her speak with the officer in charge.

• Close your business. Put a sign on the door and lock it, or have an employee stationed at the entrance to keep people from entering the search area. This will keep customers or service people from becoming enmeshed in the situation. Depending on the circumstances, you may be able to continue basic functions such as answering phones or accepting deliveries. Officers will want the immediate search area cleared, however.

• Review the warrant closely. A search warrant must be issued from the same county/city as your business and must be executed within five calendar days from its issuance or it becomes void.

• Copy the warrant for your files, write down badge numbers and the names of officers.

Customers and employees may be escorted to a central location and may be frisked for weapons. Business owners and other essential employees may be detained by law enforcement for the period of time needed to complete the search. Customers and non-essential employees should ask to leave the premises.

Any documents or items found in furtherance of the warrant will be seized. Request to make copies of seized documents, but you may not be allowed to do so. Make your own inventory or log of documents and items seized/copied to reconcile against the detailed receipt the officer is required to provide to the court.

Computers, laptops and other media (e.g., external drives, disks, etc.) are often targeted in investigations. The officers can search the computer on-site and copy its contents or the files specified in the warrant, or take the electronic media off-site and can make a "mirror image" of the entire hard drive. Pay particular attention to this aspect of the warrant. A warrant authorizing a search for certain computer files may not permit the seizure of the computer itself.

Following a search, be prepared to manage employee concerns and any media issues. Contact your attorney after officers leave and before making any public statements about the search.

While the affidavit for search warrant, the search warrant, inventory and return of search warrant are supposed to be open to the public as a judicial record, in most instances officers will ask the judge seal the record in order not to reveal what is learned in the investigation.

Contact A. Bates Butler III at bbutler@fclaw.com or (520) 879-6804. Butler practices law with Fennemore Craig focusing on white-collar crime criminal defense and civil litigation.