Section 4.5: Legal Environment Of Policing

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1983 Suit

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A type of lawsuit originating under Section 1983 of Title 42 of the United States Code that allows people to sue government employees for violating their constitutional rights.

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Affidavit

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A written or printed statement made under oath.

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Arrest Warrant

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A written order, issued by a judge, commanding any law enforcement officer within the court's jurisdiction to take the named person into custody and bring them before the court.

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Automobile Search

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A type of search that requires probable cause as specified by the Fourth Amendment, but is exempt from the general warrant requirement of the Fourth Amendment.

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Brown v. Mississippi (1936)

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Prohibited the use of torture as a means of obtaining confessions by the police.

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Consent Search

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A type of police search that relies on the knowing and voluntary waiver of the Fourth Amendment rights of the person being searched.

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Escobedo v. Illinois (1964)

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A ruling by the SCOTUS that criminal suspects have the right to have a lawyer present at police interrogations.

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Exigent Circumstances Exception

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An exception to certain procedural protections based in the idea that the public safety comes ahead of individual liberties.

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Fleeing Felon Rule

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Common law rule that police could use deadly force to stop a person known to be a felon from getting away.

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Hot Pursuit Search

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A warrantless but lawful search of premises for a person actively evading a police pursuit.

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Inevitable Discovery Exception

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An exception to the exclusionary rule that allows illegally obtained evidence to be used in court if it would have been found legally anyway.

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Knock and Announce

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A common law rule incorporated into the Fourth Amendment that requires officers to knock and announce their identity as police officers before entering a person's home to serve a search warrant.

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Mere Hunch

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An intuitive feeling that a suspect is engaging in criminal activity, but no specific evidence can be articulated.

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New York v. Quarles (1984)

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A landmark SCOTUS decision in which the Court established a public safety exception to the Miranda warnings.

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Nix v. Williams (1984)

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A landmark SCOTUS decision in which the Court established an "inevitable discovery exception" to the exclusionary rule.

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No-knock Warrant

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A special type of warrant that waives the knock and announce requirement.

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Open Fields Doctrine

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A legal doctrine holding that a warrantless search outside the curtilage of the home is not a violation of the property owner's Fourth Amendment rights.

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Particularity Requirement

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A Fourth Amendment principle that requires officers to clearly and precisely describe the place to be searched and the things to be seized in order for a search warrant application to be approved by a magistrate.

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Plain View Doctrine

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An exception to the search warrant requirement that allows an officer to seize contraband when the contraband is seen from a place where the officer has a lawful right to be.

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Police Brutality

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The use of force by police in excess of what is reasonably necessary to accomplish a legitimate criminal justice purpose.

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Primary Aggressor

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The most significant contributor to the violence in a domestic violence situation.

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Public Safety Exception

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An exception to the Miranda warning requirements in situations where the public safety demands the police ask questions immediately, such as the location of a dangerous weapon that may cause harm to someone.

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Reasonable Person Test

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A test of reasonableness based on how a typical person, with ordinary prudence, would act in certain circumstances.

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Reasonable Suspicion

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An evidentiary standard falling between a mere hunch and probable cause.

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Remedy

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Court enforcement of some right.

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Right to Remain Silent

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Comes from the Fifth Amendment's protection from compelled self-incrimination.

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Rules of Criminal Procedure

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Rules promulgated by the SCOTUS that govern how federal criminal prosecutions are conducted.

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Sixth Amendment

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A Constitutional Amendment that contains several clauses dealing with the rights of accused persons.

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Stop and Frisk

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A "pat down" search of a person for weapons; only lawful if the officer has reasonable suspicion to believe the suspect is armed.

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Tennessee v. Garner (1985)

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A landmark SCOTUS decision where the Court invalidated a Tennessee statute that codified the fleeing felon rule.

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Terry Stop

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A "pat down" search of a person for weapons; only lawful if the officer has reasonable suspicion to believe the suspect is armed.

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U.S. v. Leon (1984)

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A landmark SCOTUS decision in which the Court created the "good faith" exception to the exclusionary rule.

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Weeks v. U.S. (1914)

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A landmark SCOTUS decision that established the exclusionary rule in federal courts.