In the case of City of West Covina v. Lawrence Perkins et al., 1998, the U.S Supreme Court ruled that police departments are not required to provide detailed information about how citizens can retrieve property seized during searches. The dispute began when California law enforcement officers confiscated money and firearms from Lawrence Perkins' home while executing a search warrant. When he tried to recover his belongings, he was given no guidance on how to do so by the city or its police department. As a result, Perkins sued under federal civil rights laws for violation of due process rights. The court held in favor of West Covina with a unanimous decision stating that although individuals have a right to know how they can retrieve their property, this does not mean local governments must provide specific instructions on doing so as long as state procedures exist and are available through other sources such as statutes, court clerks or lawyers.

In the dissenting opinion for City of West Covina v. Lawrence Perkins et al., Justice Stevens argued that due process requires police to provide more specific notice about how to recover seized property. He disagreed with the majority's view that general information, such as state law being available in a library or through an attorney, was sufficient. Instead, he believed that individuals should be given clear instructions on how to reclaim their possessions after they have been seized by authorities during criminal investigations. This would ensure fairness and prevent undue hardship on those who may not have easy access to legal resources or knowledge of complex procedures involved in retrieving confiscated items from law enforcement agencies.