COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- The South Carolina Supreme Court has ruled a search warrant must be signed by a judge or it isn't valid.
The justices Monday unanimously overturned Kevin Covert's convictions and 25-year prison sentence for cocaine trafficking and a weapons charge.
Court records show officers found about a pound of cocaine in Covert's Greenville County home during a September 2002 search.
Covert's lawyer wanted the evidence tossed out because the search warrant wasn't signed, but the trial judge agreed with prosecutors that it was a procedural mistake.
The Supreme Court justices now say the signature is needed because it assures the public that a judge has found police have enough evidence for a search.
The justices also ruled Covert deserved a new trial because the "not guilty" option was left off a verdict form.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
APNP 04-13-09 1549EDT
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