21 U.S.C. § 880 : US Code - Section 880: Administrative inspections and warrants

Search 21 U.S.C. § 880 : US Code - Section 880: Administrative inspections and warrants

(a) "Controlled premises" defined
As used in this section, the term "controlled premises" means -
(1) places where original or other records or documents
required under this subchapter are kept or required to be kept,
and
(2) places, including factories, warehouses, and other
establishments, and conveyances, where persons registered under
section 823 of this title (or exempt from registration under
section 822(d) of this title or by regulation of the Attorney
General) or regulated persons may lawfully hold, manufacture,
distribute, dispense, administer, or otherwise dispose of
controlled substances or listed chemicals or where records
relating to those activities are maintained.
(b) Grant of authority; scope of inspections
(1) For the purpose of inspecting, copying, and verifying the
correctness of records, reports, or other documents required to be
kept or made under this subchapter and otherwise facilitating the
carrying out of his functions under this subchapter, the Attorney
General is authorized, in accordance with this section, to enter
controlled premises and to conduct administrative inspections
thereof, and of the things specified in this section, relevant to
those functions.
(2) Such entries and inspections shall be carried out through
officers or employees (hereinafter referred to as "inspectors")
designated by the Attorney General. Any such inspector, upon
stating his purpose and presenting to the owner, operator, or agent
in charge of such premises (A) appropriate credentials and (B) a
written notice of his inspection authority (which notice in the
case of an inspection requiring, or in fact supported by, an
administrative inspection warrant shall consist of such warrant),
shall have the right to enter such premises and conduct such
inspection at reasonable times.
(3) Except as may otherwise be indicated in an applicable
inspection warrant, the inspector shall have the right -
(A) to inspect and copy records, reports, and other documents
required to be kept or made under this subchapter;
(B) to inspect, within reasonable limits and in a reasonable
manner, controlled premises and all pertinent equipment, finished
and unfinished drugs, listed chemicals, and other substances or
materials, containers, and labeling found therein, and, except as
provided in paragraph (4) of this subsection, all other things
therein (including records, files, papers, processes, controls,
and facilities) appropriate for verification of the records,
reports, and documents referred to in clause (A) or otherwise
bearing on the provisions of this subchapter; and
(C) to inventory any stock of any controlled substance or
listed chemical therein and obtain samples of any such substance
or chemical.
(4) Except when the owner, operator, or agent in charge of the
controlled premises so consents in writing, no inspection
authorized by this section shall extend to -
(A) financial data;
(B) sales data other than shipment data; or
(C) pricing data.
(c) Situations not requiring warrants
A warrant under this section shall not be required for the
inspection of books and records pursuant to an administrative
subpena issued in accordance with section 876 of this title, nor
for entries and administrative inspections (including seizures of
property) -
(1) with the consent of the owner, operator, or agent in charge
of the controlled premises;
(2) in situations presenting imminent danger to health or
safety;
(3) in situations involving inspection of conveyances where
there is reasonable cause to believe that the mobility of the
conveyance makes it impracticable to obtain a warrant;
(4) in any other exceptional or emergency circumstance where
time or opportunity to apply for a warrant is lacking; or
(5) in any other situations where a warrant is not
constitutionally required.
(d) Administrative inspection warrants; issuance; execution;
probable cause
Issuance and execution of administrative inspection warrants
shall be as follows:
(1) Any judge of the United States or of a State court of
record, or any United States magistrate judge, may, within his
territorial jurisdiction, and upon proper oath or affirmation
showing probable cause, issue warrants for the purpose of
conducting administrative inspections authorized by this
subchapter or regulations thereunder, and seizures of property
appropriate to such inspections. For the purposes of this
section, the term "probable cause" means a valid public interest
in the effective enforcement of this subchapter or regulations
thereunder sufficient to justify administrative inspections of
the area, premises, building, or conveyance, or contents thereof,
in the circumstances specified in the application for the
warrant.
(2) A warrant shall issue only upon an affidavit of an officer
or employee having knowledge of the facts alleged, sworn to
before the judge or magistrate judge and establishing the grounds
for issuing the warrant. If the judge or magistrate judge is
satisfied that grounds for the application exist or that there is
probable cause to believe they exist, he shall issue a warrant
identifying the area, premises, building, or conveyance to be
inspected, the purpose of such inspection, and, where
appropriate, the type of property to be inspected, if any. The
warrant shall identify the items or types of property to be
seized, if any. The warrant shall be directed to a person
authorized under subsection (b)(2) of this section to execute it.
The warrant shall state the grounds for its issuance and the name
of the person or persons whose affidavit has been taken in
support thereof. It shall command the person to whom it is
directed to inspect the area, premises, building, or conveyance
identified for the purpose specified, and, where appropriate,
shall direct the seizure of the property specified. The warrant
shall direct that it be served during normal business hours. It
shall designate the judge or magistrate judge to whom it shall be
returned.
(3) A warrant issued pursuant to this section must be executed
and returned within ten days of its date unless, upon a showing
by the United States of a need therefor, the judge or magistrate
judge allows additional time in the warrant. If property is
seized pursuant to a warrant, the person executing the warrant
shall give to the person from whom or from whose premises the
property was taken a copy of the warrant and a receipt for the
property taken or shall leave the copy and receipt at the place
from which the property was taken. The return of the warrant
shall be made promptly and shall be accompanied by a written
inventory of any property taken. The inventory shall be made in
the presence of the person executing the warrant and of the
person from whose possession or premises the property was taken,
if they are present, or in the presence of at least one credible
person other than the person making such inventory, and shall be
verified by the person executing the warrant. The judge or
magistrate judge, upon request, shall deliver a copy of the
inventory to the person from whom or from whose premises the
property was taken and the applicant for the warrant.
(4) The judge or magistrate judge who has issued a warrant
under this section shall attach to the warrant a copy of the
return and all papers filed in connection therewith and shall
file them with the clerk of the district court of the United
States for the judicial district in which the inspection was
made.