Rule 3.13 Unlawfully seized property.

If police or investigators took your property through an illegal search or seizure, you can ask the court to give it back. To do this, you file a motion explaining why the property belongs to you and why it was taken unlawfully. The judge will look at the facts of your case and decide whether the search was actually illegal. If the judge agrees, the court will order your property returned to you.

If this motion for return of property happens after you've already been formally charged with a crime (through an indictment or information), the court treats it as two things at once: a request for your property back, and a motion to suppress evidence. This matters because it means the illegally obtained property likely can't be used against you in your case.

You can also file a motion to suppress evidence on its own, separate from asking for property back. This type of motion asks the court to block the prosecution from using certain evidence at trial because it was gathered illegally. You can file this motion at any time after you've been indicted.