State v. Williams

The issue presented to this court is whether a search warrant is void ab initio when the face of the document lacks a judge’s signature. We find that it is. Therefore, any evidence obtained pursuant to such a search warrant must be suppressed.

The issue of whether a search warrant is void if not signed by a judge prior to a search was addressed by the court in State v. Spaw (1984), 18 Ohio App. 3d 77, 18 OBR 242, 480 N.E. 2d 1138. In Spaw, evidence was obtained in a search of the defendant’s car. The search warrant authorizing the search had not been signed by a judge prior to that search. The…