18 U.S.C. § 3102
Section 3102 · Authority to issue search warrant - (Rule)
Amended 3 times on record
Applied in 7 court decisions — leading case United States v. Lewis (1995)
Most recently applied in 186 F. Supp. 3d 26 - United States v. Levin (May 2016)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
See Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
Federal, State or Territorial Judges, or U.S. magistrate judges authorized to issue search warrants, Rule 41(a).
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Amendments
1968—Pub. L. 90–578 substituted “magistrates” for “Commissioners”.
Change of Name
“U.S. magistrate judges” substituted for “U.S. magistrates” in text pursuant to section 321 of Pub. L. 101–650, set out as a note under section 631 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.
Effective Date of 1968 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 90–578 effective Oct. 17, 1968, except when a later effective date is applicable, which is the earlier of date when implementation of amendment by appointment of magistrates [now United States magistrate judges] and assumption of office takes place or third anniversary of enactment of Pub. L. 90–578 on Oct. 17, 1968, see section 403 of Pub. L. 90–578, set out as a note under section 631 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.