Art. 163. Officer to whom directed; time for execution; electronic devices

            A. A search warrant shall be directed to any peace officer, who shall execute it and bring any property seized into the court issuing the warrant.

            B. A search or seizure shall not be made during the nighttime or on Sunday, unless the warrant expressly so directs.

            C. Except as authorized by Article 163.1 or 163.2, or as otherwise provided in this Article, or as otherwise provided by law, a search warrant cannot be lawfully executed after the expiration of the tenth day after its issuance.

            D.(1) Any examination or testing of any property seized pursuant to the provisions of this Article shall be at the direction of the attorney general, the district attorney, or the investigating agency.

            (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, any examination or testing of the seized property may be conducted at any time before or during the pendency of any criminal proceeding in which the property may be used as evidence.

            E.(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, if a warrant is issued to search for and seize data or information contained in or on a computer, disk drive, flash drive, cellular telephone, or other electronic communication, or data storage device, the warrant is considered to have been executed within the time allowed in Paragraph C of this Article if the device was seized before the expiration of the time allowed, or if the device was in law enforcement custody at the time of the issuance of the warrant.

            (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, if a device described in Subparagraph (1) of this Paragraph was seized before the expiration of the time allowed in Paragraph C of this Article, or if the device was in law enforcement custody at the time of the issuance of the warrant, any data or information contained in or on the device may be recovered or extracted pursuant to the warrant at any time, and such recovery or extraction shall not be subject to the time limitation in Paragraph C of this Article.

            Acts 2005, No. 38, §1; Acts 2012, No. 44, §1; Acts 2019, No. 341, §1; Acts 2022, No. 384, §1.