Guam § 67 - Administrative Inspections and Warrants and Search is Warrant.

§ 67. Administrative Inspections and Warrants and Search is Warrant.

(a) In this Section, controlled premises means:

(1) places where persons registered or exempted from registration requirements under this Act

are required to keep records; and

(2) places, including factories, warehouses, establishments and conveyances, in which persons

registered or exempted from registration requirements under this Act are permitted to hold,

manufacture, compound, process, sell, deliver or otherwise dispose of a controlled substance.

(b) The procedure for issuance and execution of administrative inspection warrants is as follows:

(1) A judge of the Guam Superior Court, upon proper oath or affirmation showing probable cause,

may issue warrants to conduct administrative inspections of controlled premises authorized by this Act

or rules adopted under this Act, and seizures of property appropriate to the inspections. For the purpose

of issuance of an administrative inspection warrant, probable cause exists upon showing a valid public

interest in the effective enforcement of this Act, or rules adopted under this Act, sufficient to justify

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administrative inspection of the area, premises, building or conveyance in the circumstances specified

in the application for the warrant.

(2) A warrant may issue only upon an affidavit of a designated officer or employee having

knowledge of the facts alleged, sworn to before the judge and establishing the grounds for issuing the

warrant. If the judge is satisfied that grounds for the application exist or that there is probable cause to

believe they exist, the judge shall issue a warrant identifying the area, premises, building or

conveyance to be inspected, the purpose of the inspection, and, if appropriate, the type of property to

be inspected, if any. The warrant must:

(A) state the grounds for its issuance and the name of each individual whose affidavit has

been taken in support thereof;

(B) be directed to an individual authorized by § 67.501 to execute it;

(C) command the individual to whom it is directed to inspect the area, premises, building or

conveyance identified for the purpose specified and, if appropriate, direct the seizure of the

property specified;

(D) identify the item or types of property to be seized, if any; and

(E) direct that it be served during normal business hours and designate the judge to whom it

must be returned.

(3) A warrant issued pursuant to this Section must be executed and returned within ten (10) days

after its date unless, upon a showing of a need for additional time, the Court orders otherwise. If

property is seized pursuant to a warrant, a copy must be given to the person from whom or from whose

premises the property is taken, together with a receipt for the property taken. The return of the warrant

must be made promptly, accompanied by a written inventory of any property taken. The inventory

must be made in the presence of the individual executing the warrant and of the person from whose

possession or premises the property was taken, if present, or in the presence of at least one (1) credible

individual other than the individual executing the warrant. A copy of the inventory must be delivered

to the person from whom or from whose premises the property was taken and to the applicant for the

warrant; and

(4) The judge who has issued a warrant shall attach to the warrant a copy of the return and all

papers returnable in connection therewith and file them with the clerk of the Guam Superior Court in

which the inspection was made.

(c) DPHSS and GPD may make administrative inspections of controlled premises in accordance with

the following provisions:

(1) if authorized by an administrative inspection warrant issued pursuant to Subsection (b), an

officer or employee designated by DPHSS and GPD, upon presenting the warrant and appropriate

credentials to the owner, operator or agent in charge, may enter controlled premises for the purpose of

conducting an administrative inspection;

(2) if authorized by an administrative inspection warrant, an officer or employee designated by

DPHSS and GPD may:

(A) inspect and copy records required by this Act to be kept;

(B) inspect, within reasonable limits and in a reasonable manner, controlled premises and all

pertinent equipment, finished and unfinished material, containers and labeling found therein, and,

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except as provided in Paragraph (4), all other things therein, including records, files, papers,

processes, controls and facilities bearing on violation of this Act; and

(C) inventory any stock of a controlled substance therein and obtain samples thereof;

(3) This Section does not prevent the inspection without a warrant of books and records pursuant

to an administrative subpoena issued in accordance with § 9217 of Title 5 of the Guam Code

Annotated, nor does it prevent entries and administrative inspections, including seizures of property,

without a warrant:

(A) if the owner, operator or agent in charge of the controlled premises consents;

(B) in situations presenting imminent danger to health or safety as determined by DPHSS

and/or GPD;

(C) in situations involving inspection of conveyances if there is reasonable cause to believe

that the mobility of the conveyance makes it impracticable to obtain a warrant;

(D) in an emergency or other exceptional circumstance where time or opportunity to apply

for a warrant is lacking; or

(E) in all other situations in which a warrant is not constitutionally required.

(4) An inspection authorized by this Section may not extend to financial data, sales data other

than shipment data or pricing data, unless the owner, operator or agent in charge of the controlled

premises consents in writing.

NOTE: Pursuant to the authority granted by 1 GCA § 1606, numbers and/or letters were altered to adhere to the

Compiler’s alpha-numeric scheme.