Barbri Amp

Front 1

To be valid, a warrant must:

Back 1

To be valid, a warrant must:

(i) Be issued by a neutral and detached magistrate;

(ii) Be based on probable cause established from facts submitted to the magistrate by a government agent upon oath or affirmation; and

(iii) Particularly describe the place to be searched and the items to be seized.

A valid warrant need NOT be accompanied by a bond for damages.

Front 2

The best statement of the probable cause requirement

Back 2

The best statement of the probable cause requirement is the officer must have knowledge of reasonably trustworthy facts and circumstances sufficient to warrant a reasonably prudent person to believe that the suspect has committed or is committing a crime. This is a totality of the circumstances test, and a police officer’s training and experience can come into play.

Front 3

The Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures

Back 3

The Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. The Supreme Court has held that only a person with a reasonable expectation of privacy in a place searched or an item seized can challenge a search or seizure on Fourth Amendment grounds to bar the use of the fruits of the search as evidence at trial. An intrusion into a place or thing in which the defendant does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy is not considered a search for Fourth Amendment purposes.

Front 4

The search incident to arrest exception to the warrant requirement applies:

Back 4

The police may conduct a search incident to arrest after any constitutional arrest.

As long as the arrest was constitutionally valid (e.g., reasonable and based on probable cause)

Front 5

Reasonable under the Fourth Amendment?

Back 5

What is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment depends on the circumstances. For example, certain searches and seizures are considered to be reasonable only if the government has first obtained a warrant authorizing the action, while other searches and seizures are reasonable without a warrant. The material that follows specifically outlines the requirements for searches and seizures under the Fourth Amendment.

Front 6

Exclusionary Rule

Back 6

The exclusionary rule is a judge-made rule providing that evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth, Fifth, or Sixth Amendment generally may not be admitted into evidence at trial. The rationale is that if the state cannot use illegally obtained evidence in prosecuting a criminal case, it will deter police officers from violating the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendment rights of suspects.

Front 7

Terry Stop

Back 7

The statement that the police may stop a person for investigatory purposes if they have at least reasonable suspicion to investigate based on articulable facts reflects the correct standard for making an investigatory stop, also known as a Terry stop.

Front 8

Affidavit

Back 8

A written statement of facts voluntarily made by an affiant under an oath or affirmation administered by a person authorized to do so by law.

Front 9

To conduct a frisk of a person stopped for investigative purposes without a warrant, the police must have:

Back 9

The police need only have reason to believe that the suspect is armed and dangerous.

Front 10

If a police officer submits an affidavit to a magistrate to obtain a search warrant, what must that affidavit include?

Back 10

Enough information to allow the magistrate to make a common sense determination of probable cause

Front 11

Requirements for public school searches:

Back 11

The following are requirements for public school searches:

(i) The search must offer at least a moderate chance of finding evidence of wrongdoing;

(ii) The measures adopted to carry out the search must be reasonably related to the objectives of the search; and

(iii) The search must not be excessively intrusive in light of the age and sex of the student and nature of the infraction (e.g., no strip search of freshman girls to look for a few aspirin).

The searches clearly do implicate the Fourth Amendment. However, the standards are lower than ordinary searches; they need not be based on probable cause. The Supreme Court has relaxed the search standard for schools because of the nature of the environment.

Front 12

To make a warrantless seizure, the police

Back 12

To make a warrantless seizure, the police
(1) must be legitimately on the premises where the item is found;
(2) the item must be evidence, contraband, or a fruit or instrumentality of a crime;
(3) the item must be in plain view; and
(4) it must be immediately apparent (i.e., probable cause) that the item is evidence, contraband, or a fruit or instrumentality of a crime.

Front 13

Automobile Searches

Back 13

Under the Fourth Amendment, probable cause to search an automobile allows the police to search the automobile, all occupants, and their belongings that can harbor items for which the officers have probable cause to search.

Front 14

Searches incident to arrest

Back 14

A search of the interior of an automobile incident to arrest may be performed only if the arrestee is not secured or if the police have reason to believe that the automobile harbors evidence of the crime for which the arrest was made.

Searches incident to arrest are an exception to the general rule. They are allowed without a warrant. However, when the person arrested was in a vehicle, a search of the vehicle is limited to situations where (i) the arrestee (or more likely arrestees) is (are) unsecured, or (ii) police have reason to believe that the automobile harbors evidence of the crime for which the arrest was made.

Front 15

Fruit of the Poisonous Tree

Back 15

The fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine provides that not only must unconstitutionally obtained evidence be excluded at trial, but also all evidence obtained or derived from exploitation of that evidence. There are exceptions to the rule (e.g., when officers rely in good faith on a facially valid search warrant; when seeking to impeach trial testimony), and the rule generally applies only at criminal trials (i.e., it does not apply at civil proceedings or parole proceedings); neither does it apply to violations of agency rules or state laws.

Front 16

Probable Cause

Back 16

The probable cause requirement goes to the evidence/suspicion needed to obtain a warrant or to arrest someone.
Probable cause exists when there are sufficient trustworthy facts to lead a reasonably prudent person to believe that the thing in question
(When related to arrest—that the person has committed a crime;
When related to a search—that evidence or contraband may be found).

Front 17

4, 5, 6, 8 Amendments

Back 17

The Fourth Amendment provides that people should be free in their persons from unreasonable searches and seizures. Generally, to be reasonable, a search or seizure must be pursuant to a warrant issued by a neutral magistrate and based on probable cause (e.g., that the person to be arrested or evidence of a crime may be found in the premises to be searched). The Fourth Amendment was made applicable to the states through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

The Fifth Amendment provides for a privilege against compulsory self-incrimination and a prohibition against double jeopardy.

The Sixth Amendment protects the right to a speedy trial, the right to a public trial, the right to a trial by jury, the right to confront witnesses, the right to compulsory process of witnesses, and the right to assistance of counsel.

The Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishment and provides for bail.

Front 18

What standard must the police must meet in order to seize a person for investigatory purposes?

Back 18

The statement that the police may not seize a person for investigatory purposes unless they have at least reasonable suspicion to investigate based on articulable facts reflects the correct standard for making an investigatory seizure, also known as a Terry stop.

Front 19

A warrantless arrest in a public place is permissible

Back 19

A warrantless arrest in a public place is permissible if the officer has reasonable grounds to believe that a felony has been committed and that the person before her committed it. This is a rule that must be committed to memory.

Front 20

Terry Stop 1

Back 20

The police may stop a person for investigatory purposes if they have at least reasonable suspicion to investigate based on articulable facts reflects the correct standard for making an investigatory stop, also known as a Terry stop.
The suspicion can be based on personal observation, reliable tips, police flyers, a bulletin, or the like. Whether the standard is met is judged under the totality of the circumstances.

Front 21

When does the exclusionary rule not apply?

Back 21

The exclusionary rule does not apply when the police arrest or search someone erroneously but in good faith, thinking that they are acting pursuant to a valid arrest warrant, search warrant, or law. The exclusionary rule is a judge-made doctrine that prohibits the introduction, at a criminal trial, of evidence obtained in violation of a defendant’s Fourth, Fifth, or Sixth Amendment rights. The rationale for the exception is that one of the main purposes of the exclusionary rule is to deter improper police conduct, and this purpose cannot be served where police are acting in good faith.

Front 22

How does a witness invoke the 5th amendment privilege against self-incrimination?

Back 22

It is true that a criminal defendant may invoke the privilege by refusing to take the witness stand but a witness may not. Only a criminal defendant has the right to refuse to testify; a witness must be sworn in before invoking the privilege, and must invoke it as to each question to which it applies.