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39 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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4th Amendment
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Protects criminal suspects against unreasonable seraches and seizures by plaicng limitation on what the police can do in their efforts to catch lawbreakers and collect evidence
The two important parts of this amendment are the "Reasonable clause", and the "warrants clause". |
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Search (4th Amendment)
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Occurs when police infringes on a person's reasonable expectation of privacy.
If a person abandons his property, that person cannot continue to assert privacy in the property. |
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Curtilage
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Grounds or fields attached to a house
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Open field
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Any unoccupied or undeveloped real property outside the curtilage of a home
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Arrest
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Occurs when a police officer takes a person into custody or deprives a person of freedom for having allegedly committed a criminal offense
The 4th Amendment does not mention arrests but it does mention seizures and arrest is one of the most common types of seizures |
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A legal arrest occurs when the following conditions exists
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1) The police officer believes that sufficient legal evidence- that is probable cause- exists
2) The police officer deprives the individual of freedom 3) The suspect believes that he is in the custody of the police |
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Name and describe the 2 varieties of warrants
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1) Search warrant: an order issued by a judge, directing officers to conduct a search of specified premises for specified objects
2) Arrest warrant: an order, issued by a judge, directing officers to arrest a particular individual |
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In what situations are warrants necessary
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- Arrests and searches in private homes or on specific types of private property
- Arrest for minor offenses committed out of view of the arresting officer |
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In presence requirement
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A police officer cannot arrest someone for a misdemeanor unless the officer sees the crime occur
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What are the three requirements that must be satisfied before a warrant can be issued?
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Probable cause; a neutral and detached magistrate; and particularity
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Probable cause
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The evidentiary criterion necessary to sustain an arrest or the issuance of an arrest or search warrant:
A set of facts, information, circumstances, or conditions that would lead a reasonable person to believe that an offense was committed and that the accused committed that offense |
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Name some sources of information officers can use to show probable cause
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Firsthand knowledge
Informants' statements (Aquilar v. Texas) Anonymous tips (Illinois v. Gates) Phone tips |
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Aguilar v. Texas
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In this case, the court articulated a two part test for issuing a warrant on the word of an informant.
The police had to show (1) why they believed the informant, and (2) how the informant acquired personal knowledge of the crime This rule restricted informant testimony to people who were in direct contact with police and whose info could be verified |
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Illinois v. Gates
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In this case, the court eased the process of obtaining search warrants by developing a totality of the circumstances test to determine probable cause for issuing a search warrant
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Particularity
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The requirement that a search warrant state precisely where the search is to take place and what items are to be seized.
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Warrant Requirements
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- Probable Cause
- Neutral and detached magistrate: neither a search warrant nor an arrest warrant can be issued without the signature of a neutral and detached magistrate - Particularity: a search warrant must set forth and precisely specify the places to be searched and items to be seized. |
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The Supreme Court has carved out some significant exceptions to the warrant requirements of the 4th Amendment. These include:
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Exigent (emergency) circumstances
Stop and Frisk Searches incident to lawful arrest Automobile searches Consent searches Searches based on plain view Crimes committed in an officer's presence |
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Probable cause hearing
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If a person is subjected to a warrantless arrest, a hearing is held to determine if probable cause exists that he committed the crime
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Exigent Circumstances
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Emergency or immediate circumstances.
These include hot pursuit, danger of escape, threats to evidence, and threats to others. |
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Hot pursuit
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A legal doctrine that allows police to perform a warrantless search of premises where they suspect a crime has been committed when delay would endanger their lives or the lives of others and lead to the escape of the alleged perpetrator.
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Stop and Frisk
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This is an important exception to the rule requiring a search warrant.
The situation in which police officers who are suspcious of an individual run their hands lightly over the suspect's outer garments to determine if the person is carrying a concealed weapon; also called a threshold inquiry or pat-down The stop and frisk are seperate actions and each requires its own factual bases. However, the facts that support a stop do not automatically allow a frisk |
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A search without a warrant is permissible if.....
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...it is made incident (right after an arrest) to a lawful arrest.
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Search incident to a lawful arrest
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An exception to the search warrant rule, limited to the immediate surrounding area.
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TRUE/FALSE
Evidence cannot be seized from an auto when a suspect is taken into custody in a lawful arrest |
FALSE
Evidence CAN be seized The most important requirement for a warrantless search of an auto is that it must be based on the legal standard of probable ause that a crime related to the vehicle has been or is being committed. Under such conditions, the car may be stopped and searched, the contraband seized, and the occupant arrested. |
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Scope of the Automobile Search
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Police can search a suspect after he has exited a vehicle to determine if he has a weapon. They can also search the area in the car, such as the driver's seat, where the suspect was sitting or that was under his control
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Pretext stops
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A pretext stop is one in which police officers stop a car because they suspect the driver is involved in a crime such as drug trafficking, but, lacking probable cause, they use a pretext such as a minor traffic violation to stop the car and search its interior
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Bus Sweep
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Police investigation technique in which officers board a bus or train without a suspicion of illegal activity and question passengers, asking for identification and seeking permission to search their baggage.
The Supreme Court in Florida vs. Bostick upheld this drug interdiction technique |
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Plain view doctrine
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The principle that evidence in plain view of police officers may be seized without a search warrant
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Crime Committed in an Officer's Presence
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In the case of a felony, most jurisdictions provide that a police officer may arrest a suspect without a warrant when probable cause exists, even though the officer was not present when the offense was committed.
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Name and describe the 2 key laws that restrict government wiretap authority
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1) Federal Wiretap Act (Title II of the OMnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act): IT requires court approval of all real-time eavesdropping of electronic communications including voice, e-mail, and those connected with criminal investigations.
2) The FOreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA)- authorizes wiretapping of an alien the government believes is a member of a foreign power. In the case of US citizens, there must be probable cause that the person targeted for a wiretap is involved in criminal activity. |
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Miranda Vs. Arizona (1966)
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Suspects held in custody must be told the following rights: they have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in court, they have the right to have an attorney present and if they cannot afford an attorney, the court will provide one for them
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Public Safety Doctrine
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The principle that a suspect can be questioned in the field without a Miranda warning if the info the police seek is needed to protect public safety
Failure to give a suspect a Miranda warning is not illegal unless the case becomes a criminal issue |
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After the accused is arrested...
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he/she is brought to the police station, where the police list the possible criminal charges. At the same time, they obtain other info such as a description of the offender and the circumsatnces of the offense for booking purposes
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Booking
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The adminstrative record of an arrest listing the offender's name, address, physical description, DOB, employer, time of arrest, offense, and name of arresting officer. IT also includes photographing and fingerprinting of the offender
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Lineup
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Placing a suspect in a group for the purpose of being viewed and identified by a witness.
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US vs. Wade
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The Supreme Court held that a defendant has a right to counsel if the lineup takes place after the suspect has been formally charged with a crime
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Exclusionary Rule
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THe principle that prohibits using illegally obtained evidence in a trial.
This rule provides that all evidence obtained by illegal searches an seizures is inadmissible in criminal trials. Similarly it excludes the use of illegal confessions under 5th Amendment prohibitions |
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Fruit of the poisonous tree
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Secondary evidence obtained from a search that violates the exclusionary rule.
For example, if the police without probable cause and a warrant, searched a private home and found a key to a locker at a nearby station, a search of the locker would be considered fruit of the poisonous tree |
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Major exceptions to the exclusionary Rule
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1) Independent source exception: this rule allows admisison of evidence that has been discovered by means wholly independent of any constitutional violation
2) Good Faith exception: the principle that evidence may be used in a criminal trial as long as the police acted in good faith when they sought the warrant from a judge 3) Inevitable Discovery |
