John Smith Case Study Essay

The evidence obtain during the search of John Smith vehicle should not be admissible in court and a motion to suppress should be file. The Fourth Amendment protects against unlawful search and seizures applies to routine traffic stops as in this case. Officer Roberts should have had probable cause that a crime has been committed in order to search and gather evidence without a valid search warrant. Officer Roberts pull John Smith over because he thought there was an obstruction in his windshield this could be argued as probable cause, but he did not know if his search would justify the issuance of a warrant. When discovered that the obstruction was a disability badge there was no reason to continue with the traffic stop. It is clear as to the need for the stop, but there was not a need for there to …show more content…
The gun found was used in the murder of Rhoda Dendrum; it was registered to John Smith who had a permit to carry a conceal weapon. Something Officer Roberts fail to acknowledge at the time of searching the vehicle. John Smith was held on charges of possession of a firearm. When the ballistics test came back on the firearm it confirmed that it was the same one use in the murder. This led the police to do a search on John Smith cell phone which was also done without a search warrant. In the case of Riley v. California the Supreme Court ruled that a cell phone could not be searched in connection with an arrest unless a warrant is obtain from a judge or there is consent. John Smith phone was search because he was arrested for the murder of Rhoda Dendrum. The police was looking for evidence to link John Smith to Rhoda and they found it on his phone. This wasn’t an Exigent circumstance John Smith was not in possession of his phone while he was in police custody therefore there was no emergency for officers to search it without a