an entry of nolle prosequi, (ii) dismissal, or (iii) acquittal, or if the State does not
appeal such a criminal case or if the time for appeal has expired, all property of the
person, except contraband or any property prohibited by law from being recoverable,
may be returned to the person to whom it belongs without the necessity of that person
instituting an action for replevin or any other legal proceeding against the agency
having custody of the property.

(c) (1) If, at any time, on application to a judge of the circuit court of any
county or judge of the District Court, it is found that property rightfully taken under
a search warrant is being wrongfully withheld after there is no further need for
retention of the property, the judge must cause it to be restored to the person from
whom it was taken.

(2) In the discretion of the judge, an oral motion made in open court may
be received at any time making application for the return of seized property if the
application for return is based on the grounds that the property, although rightfully
taken under a search warrant, is being wrongfully withheld after there is no further
need for retention of the property. If the judge grants the oral motion, the order of the
court shall be in writing and a copy of the order shall be sent to the State's Attorney.

(3) If the judge rejects the proffer of an oral motion and requires the
person from whom the property was taken to proceed for return of the seized property
by petition and an order to show cause to the authority wrongfully withholding the
property and it is subsequently ordered that the property be restored to the person
from whom it was taken, court costs shall not be assessed against the petitioner.

(d) (1) In this subsection, "good cause" shall be established by evidence of
the following:

(i) The criminal investigation to which the affidavit is related is of
an ongoing nature and likely to yield further information which could be of use in
prosecuting alleged criminal activities; and

(ii) The failure to maintain the confidentiality of the CRIMINAL
investigation would jeopardize the use of information already obtained in the
CRIMINAL investigation, would impair the continuation of the CRIMINAL
investigation, or would jeopardize the safety of a source of information.

(2) In this subsection, "criminal investigation" means inquiries into
alleged criminal activities in violation of Article 27, §§ 286, 286A, 286B, 286C, 287,
287A, 407, 408, 409, 410, [and] 411, 419A, AND 419B of the Code conducted by a law
enforcement agency, a grand jury, or a State's Attorney under Article 10, § 39A of the
Code.

(3) Notwithstanding any provision of the Maryland Rules, a judge of the
District Court or circuit court, on a finding of good cause, may order that an affidavit
presented in support of a search and seizure warrant be sealed for a period of not
more than 30 days.

(4) Upon the expiration of the order sealing the affidavit, the affidavit

shall be: