State of Tennessee v. Ronald Stanley

The Defendant pled guilty to selling over twenty-six grams of cocaine, possession with intent to sell over 300 grams of cocaine, and possession with intent to sell between ten and seventy pounds of marijuana. As to his conviction for possession with intent to sell over 300 grams of cocaine, the Defendant reserved the following certified question of law: whether the search warrant was void for execution more than 120 hours after issuance. We hold that the five-day period in which a search warrant must be executed is to be computed using calendar days rather than hours. Thus, a search warrant is valid if executed by midnight of the fifth day after its issuance, with the calculation of days to exclude the day of issuance. We further hold that the search warrant in this case was properly executed within the five-day period and therefore affirm the judgment of the trial court.