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Flashcards in Searches & Seizures Deck (139)
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1
Q

What does the 4th Amendment protect against?

A
  1. Protects people from unreasonable government search and seizures

And

  1. Requires probable cause for government search and seizures.
    * More Info:* 4th Amendment
2
Q

What does the 5th Amendment protect against?

A
  1. Prohibits government coercion of confessions
  2. Prohibits unreliable identifications

And

  1. Provides privilege against self-incrimination
    * More Info:* 5th Amendment
3
Q

What does the 6th Amendment protect provide?

A
  1. Provides a person who is formally accused of a crime the assistance of counsel during all critical stages of the adversarial process

And

  1. Requires testimonial evidence be subject to adversarial testing (the confrontation clause)
4
Q

How is the U.S. Constitution incorporated to the states?

A

The 14th Amendment

5
Q

A state statute that grants police the authority to engage in conduct that violates the Federal Constitutional standard will be held?

A

Invalid

6
Q

The 4th Amendment applies only to who?

A

The government only.

It does not apply to private conduct.

7
Q

What is the Silver Platter Doctrine and its effect?

A

A private party acting on his own does not trigger the 4th Amendment when he acquires evidence that the government later seeks to introduce in a criminal prosecution.

8
Q

When a private party acts at the direction of a government agent or pursuant to an official policy to search an individual, is the 4th Amendment triggered?

A

Any search or seizure directed by the government is subject to 4th Amendment scrutiny

9
Q

When is a person seized as the result of government action?

A

When a reasonable person in his position would not feel free to leave or otherwise terminate the encounter

More Info: Seizure

10
Q

When is the 4th Amendment’s reasonableness requirement triggered?

A

With any government seizure of a person or property.

11
Q

What is the 4th Amendment protection if a reasonable person would feel free to leave or terminate a government encounter?

A

There is no seizure, and it does not trigger the reasonableness requirement.

12
Q

When does a government seizure occur?

A
  1. Physical force is used to restrain a suspect

Or

  1. The government makes a show of authority followed by submission
13
Q

If a suspect is located in a naturally confined location (such as an airplane), what is the test for a seizure?

A

Whether a reasonable person would feel free to terminate the encounter with the government agent

14
Q

What are all arrests?

A

Seizures

15
Q

What is a Terry Stop?

A

A brief investigatory seizure where the police require the suspect to interact with them, and which triggers the 4th Amendment

More Info: Terry Stop

16
Q

What is the permissible duration of a Terry Stop?

A

The time necessary to confirm or deny the suspicion

17
Q

What is the effect of the suspicion prompting a Terry Stop being confirmed?

A

The suspicion becomes probable cause, and an arrest is justified.

18
Q

What is the effect of the suspicion prompting the Terry Stop being not confirmed?

A

The seizure must terminate.

19
Q

Differentiate a Terry Stop from an arrest.

A

A Terry Stop is an investigation of reasonable suspicion, and an arrest is an instigation of an action.

20
Q

What government action amounts to property being seized?

A

The police must take some action that results in a meaningful interference with a possessory interest.

21
Q

Is property seized if police place something on the property (a tracker) that does not interfere with the owner’s use of the property?

A

The property is not seized.

22
Q

What does a search triggers?

A

The reasonableness requirement of the 4th Amendment

23
Q

What is a search?

A

Any government:

  1. Investigatory trespass against a person or their property

Or

  1. Intrusion into a reasonable expectation of privacy
    * More Info:* Search
24
Q

What is an investigatory trespass?

A

Any government activity that intrudes upon a person, home, papers, or effects for the purpose of finding or gathering evidence of a crime.

25
Q

A trespass qualifies as a 4th Amendment search only if the police have what intent?

A

Investigatory motive, meaning they are actively gathering evidence of a crime

26
Q

When may a person assert his 4th Amendment rights?

A

Only when the government intrudes on a reasonable expectation of privacy

27
Q

What is required for a reasonable expectation of privacy?

A
  1. Defendant has a subjective expectation of privacy by making an effort to shield the thing or the activity from the public

And

  1. The expectation is objectionably reasonable
28
Q

A person does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in something she knowingly does what to?

A

Exposes to the public

29
Q

What is the expectation of privacy when the objects to be seized are held out to the public?

A

There is no reasonable expectation of privacy.

30
Q

When is police use of animals trained to detect only contraband a search? When is it not a search?

A

Use of such animals is a search when used in an investigatory trespass.

Use of such animals is not a search at all other times (the smell is exposed to the public).

More Info: Police Use of Animals

31
Q

List examples of when there is not a reasonable expectation of privacy.

A
  1. Handwriting exemplars
  2. Voice exemplars
  3. Bank records
  4. Phone call records
  5. Sender and recipient of email
  6. Conversations the suspect believes are private that the police record with the consent of the other party to the conversation
  7. Open fields: unoccupied areas beyond the curtilage of the home, even if police trespass into the open fields
  8. Naked-eye observations of private property by air so long as police comply with flight limitations
  9. Aerial photography of the large fenced in area around an industrial complex

And

  1. Discarded property: such as commingled garbage and abandoned rental premises.
32
Q

What must a search or seizure be to comply with the 4th Amendment?

A

It must be reasonable.

33
Q

How does a warrant impact the reasonableness of a search?

A

It creates a presumption of reasonableness.

34
Q

What must a defendant prove to overcome the presumption of reasonableness that a warrant provides?

A
  1. The warrant was not based on probable cause
  2. The magistrate was not neutral or detached

Or

  1. The warrant failed to describe with particularity the:
    a. Thing to be seized

or

b. The place to be searched

35
Q

What is the classification of a government action that uses devices that are not in public use to see through a reasonable expectation of privacy?

A

It is a search

36
Q

What is a search or seizure without a warrant presumptively?

A

Unreasonable, and the government bears the burden of proving the search or seizure fell within an established exception to the warrant requirement.

37
Q

What are the requirements for a valid warrant?

A

A warrant must be issued by:

  1. A neutral and detached magistrate
  2. Based on probable cause

And

  1. Describe with particularity the thing to be seized or the place to be searched
38
Q

In applying for a warrant, what must the information (affidavit) presented to the magistrate provide?

A

Relevant facts that lead to the conclusion that:

  1. It is more probable than not that a person committed a crime

Or

  1. Evidence will be found at a location
39
Q

In applying for a warrant, what must the information presented to the magistrate not be?

A

Stale, meaning that enough time has passed such that the information is no longer good.

40
Q

When will the method of warrant execution render the police action unreasonable?

A

The method of executing the warrant shocks the conscience.

41
Q

What is the knock and announce rule?

A

Police must normally knock and announce their identity before entering a home to execute a warrant.

More Info: Knock and Announce

42
Q

When do the police not need to knock and announce?

A

Knock and announce is not required if police have reasonable suspicion to believe that doing so will:

  1. Endanger officers
  2. Lead to the destruction of evidence

Or

  1. Lead to flight of the suspect
43
Q

What is the effect of a violation of the knock and announce rule?

A
  1. The police violate the 4th Amendment

However:

  1. The violation does not prompt evidence exclusion
44
Q

What is the analysis for search and seizure questions?

A

Step 1: Determine whether there was a search or seizure

Step 2: Ask whether there was a valid warrant

a. If so, look for facts that indicate the warrant was defective and the police acted in bad faith when they relied on it

or

b. If not, then consider whether an exception applies.

Step 3: Does the search or seizure fall into one of the established exceptions:

a. If so, the search or seizure is reasonable
b. If not, the search or seizure is unreasonable

45
Q

Without a warrant, the reasonableness of a search or seizure requires police to establish what?

A

Individualized suspicions that amounts to either probable cause or reasonable suspicion

46
Q

When is probable cause always required?

A

For a full scale intrusion to:

  1. Find evidence

Or

  1. Arrest
47
Q

Reasonable suspicion justifies what intrusions?

A

Brief investigatory seizures

Or

Cursory searches

48
Q

Define probable cause.

A

Facts and circumstances that would warrant a reasonable person to conclude that:

  1. The individual in question has committed a crime

Or

  1. Evidence of criminal activity can be found at a particular location
    * More Info:* Probable Cause
49
Q

Probable cause is evaluated from what standpoint?

A

An objective standpoint. What an officer subjectively believed does not matter.

50
Q

Probable cause is always required to engage in what type of search?

A

A full scale intrusion

51
Q

What types of evidence establishes probable cause?

A
  1. Eye witness accounts
  2. Forensic evidence and tests
  3. Suspect’s own admissions or conduct

And

  1. Tips from confidential or anonymous informant
52
Q

When is a tip sufficient to trigger probable cause?

A

The totality of the circumstances test is used to assess the reliability of an informant’s tip to establish probable cause. The factors considered are:

  1. The reliability of the informant
  2. The basis of the informant’s knowledge

And

  1. Corroboration by further investigation
53
Q

Define reasonable suspicion.

A

A reasonable belief based upon articulable information {more than a mere hunch} that the suspect has or is about to engage in illegal or criminal activity.

More Info: Reasonable Suspicion

54
Q

Reasonable suspicion will never justify what type of search or seizure?

A

An arrest or a full-blown evidentiary search

55
Q

What will transform an officer’s subjective opinion into a reasonable articulable belief?

A

Some verifiable objective fact to support her suspicion

56
Q

What is required for an arrest?

A

Probable cause is always required for an arrest.

57
Q

What do police need to arrest a person in public?

A

Only probable cause

58
Q

When is an arrest warrant required?

A

To arrest a person in their own home

59
Q

What do exigent circumstances allow for?

A

A warrantless entry into a suspect’s home.

More Info: Exigent Circumstances

60
Q

What are the types of exigent circumstances?

A
  1. The offense is more serious than a minor misdemeanor
  2. The officer did not unlawfully create the exigency, and
    a. An arrest attempt outside the home is thwarted because the suspect retreats into the home
    b. There is insufficient time to get a warrant because delay would allow the subject to evade arrest or destroy evidence

Or

c. The arresting officer is in hot pursuit and has probable cause to effect a valid arrest.

61
Q

When can a reasonable suspicion that crime is about to or has just occurred be established?

A
  1. Police observations and eyewitness reports
  2. Running from police in a high crime neighborhood

Or

  1. An informant’s tip coupled with police investigation that corroborates the accuracy of the informant’s predictions
62
Q

What is the effect of a tip that provides nothing more than existing information?

A

The tip does not establish even reasonable suspicion.

63
Q

What is the permissible scope of a Terry Stop?

A

The time required for an officer acting in due diligence to:

  1. Confirm

or

  1. Deny the suspicion
64
Q

How can reasonable suspicion rise to probable cause?

A

If during the investigatory stop the police officer obtains additional information rising to the level of probable cause, the Terry Stop may be escalated to an arrest and the suspect may be searched incident to that arrest.

65
Q

How does an officer’s improper subjective basis effect a Terry Stop?

A

The stop is still valid if there was an objectively reasonable basis for the stop.

66
Q

When is no warrant required to seize property?

A

When the property is in the officer’s plain view

67
Q

What are the requirements of the plain view doctrine?

A

No warrant is required to seize property if:

  1. The police are in a lawful vantage point when they observe the item
  2. The incriminating nature of the item is immediately apparent

And

  1. The officer has lawful access to sieze the item.
    * More Info:* Plain View Doctrine
68
Q

When is the plain view doctrine active?

A

At all times: with or without a warrant.

69
Q

What is the plain view doctrine an exception to?

A

The warrant requirement for a seizure; however, it does not justify a warrantless search for contraband.

70
Q

What does the plain view doctrine not allow?

A

A search for contraband

71
Q

What is the scope of a warranted search limited to?

A

The premises or the person described in the warrant

72
Q

Contraband not named in a warrant may be lawfully seized pursuant to the plain view doctrine, so long as what?

A

The contraband comes into view within the scope of the warrant

73
Q

What authority does a search warrant confer to the police?

A
  1. Search named places

And

  1. Search named persons
74
Q

A search warrant for a premise carries with it what right against the occupants?

A

The right to detain occupants during the search but not the right to search them

75
Q

A warrantless search is unreasonable unless it falls within one of the following established exceptions.

A
  1. Searches incident to lawful arrests
  2. Plainview
  3. Automobile Exception
  4. Border Exception
  5. Consent Special Needs Requirement
  6. Hot pursuit
  7. Exigent circumstances

And

  1. Administrative Search
76
Q

What do searches incident to a lawful arrest (SITLA) allow for?

A

A search of the arrestee and the area within their immediate control (wingspan, lunging area)

More Info: SITLA

77
Q

When is SITLA triggered?

A

During a lawful arrest. During an arrest based on probable cause.

78
Q

What is the authority to conduct a search incident to a citation?

A

There is no authority to search

79
Q

When can a search incident to a lawful arrest occur?

A

The search must be:

  1. Contemporaneous with the arrest

or

  1. Precede it
80
Q

If a suspect is arrested in a home, what is the scope of a search incident to a lawful arrest?

A

The area within his lunging distance,

≠ the home

81
Q

If police have a reasonable suspicion that others in a home may put them at risk, what action may the police take?

A

The police can conduct a cursory protective sweep to find people lying in wait with the search limited to places where people may hide.

82
Q

When an arrest is effected while the defendant is in a car or has immediately exited the car, what is the scope of SITLA?

A

An officer may search:

  1. Arrestee
  2. If defendant was able to access their car, then the interior of the car
  3. If defendant was unable to access their car, then they can search for evidence related to arrest.
83
Q

If the arrestee has genuine access to the interior of the car after being placed under arrest, what is the scope of SITLA?

A

The interior of the car and all containers within the interior of the car

84
Q

If, as the result of being placed under arrest, the arrestee does not have genuine access to the interior of the car, when is a search of the interior permitted?

A

Only when the police have a reasonable belief that evidence related to the crime of arrest is in the car

85
Q

What is the automobile exception to the warrant requirement?

A

Police may search an automobile or any other self-propelled conveyance (motor home, boat, or airplane) without a warrant as long as they have probable cause. This exception applies to all containers in the vehicle.

86
Q

Once a container is put inside an automobile, what can the police search?

A

The container so long as they have probable cause to search the vehicle

87
Q

What is the scope of the search in the automobile exception?

A

The scope extends to wherever it is likely the suspect hid the contraband.

88
Q

How does the automobile exception to the warrant requirement apply to immobile vehicles?

A

It is inapplicable if it absolutely cannot move

89
Q

What is the special needs doctrine?

A

Police are permitted to use checkpoints to conduct brief seizures and/or limited searches in response to a public safety danger that cannot be addressed by complying with the normal individualized suspicion/warrant requirements.

90
Q

What must be the primary purpose of a special needs search or seizure?

A

To protect the public from imminent danger. If the purpose is general crime control, then the exception is inadequate.

91
Q

Common special needs checkpoint searches include?

A
  1. Sobriety checkpoints
  2. Search for recently escaped prison inmates
  3. Counter-terrorism checkpoints

And

  1. Checkpoints to search for suspects of a recent crime
92
Q

What are the requirements for a special needs search or seizure?

A
  1. It must be based on a fixed formula that deprives individual officers of the discretion to select the subjects (e.g. stopping every third car)
  2. It must be narrowly tailored in scope to address the specific threat

And

  1. It must be conducted in a location and in a manner that minimizes citizen anxiety
93
Q

Can police officers randomly stop a vehicle to check license and registration?

A

No, not without reasonable suspicion

94
Q

What does the border exception allow?

A

Customs officials to:

  1. Stop vehicles at permanent checkpoints located at or near the border (including international airports and ports)

And

  1. Conduct routine searches of people and property
95
Q

What is required for a non-routine border search?

A

Reasonable suspicion

96
Q

If an individual waives her right to privacy by consenting to a search, what is the legality of the search?

A

The search is reasonable and there is no need for probable cause.

97
Q

When is consent to a search valid?

A

When it is voluntary, which is assessed based upon the totality of the circumstances

98
Q

When is consent to search invalid?

A

Gained by:

  1. Asserting a fake warrant
  2. Fraud
  3. Duress

Or

  1. An unlawful police threat (a threat to do something that the officer has no authority to do).
99
Q

What is the requirement on police to inform persons of ability to decline consent?

A

There is none

100
Q

What determines the scope of consent?

A
  1. Officer’s request

And

  1. The scope of the defendant’s permission
    * More Info:* Scope of Consent
101
Q

What is the validity of consent obtained following an unlawful seizure?

A

The consent is the fruit of the poisonous tree

102
Q

Who can consent to a search?

A

Any person who has joint control or use of shared premises may consent to a valid search and any evidence seized can be used against any occupant.

103
Q

When is police reliance on third party consent reasonable?

A
  1. The person granting the consent has actual authority over the place searched

Or

  1. A reasonable person would believe that person had such authority
104
Q

Can a landlord give consent to search a tenant’s residence?

A

No

105
Q

Can an employer give consent to search an employee’s private storage area?

A

No

106
Q

When may police not reasonably rely on third party consent?

A

The other resident to a home is present and objecting

107
Q

When police are in actual hot pursuit, what may the police do?

A
  1. Enter and search a private dwelling while in hot pursuit of a fleeing suspect. Police may enter dwelling of the suspect or of any other person

And

  1. Police may execute a warrantless arrest of the suspect on the premises and seize any contraband that satisfies the plain view requirements.
    * More Info:* Hot Pursuit
108
Q

What is the exigent circumstances warrantless search exception?

A

Police may search without a warrant when the situation indicates waiting to obtain a warrant will result in an imminent:

  1. Destruction of evidence
  2. Escape of the accused

Or

  1. Risk to police or others in the area
109
Q

When does exigency justify a warrantless search and seizure of evidence in or on a suspect’s body?

A
  1. There is probable cause to believe that the nature of the evidence renders it easily destroyed or likely to disappear before a warrant can be obtained

And

  1. The procedure for seizing the evidence is reasonable and does not shock the conscience
110
Q

What does exigency allow the warrantless search of at a crime scene?

A
  1. Other killers

And

  1. Victims
111
Q

What is a Terry Search (frisk)? When is it justified?

A

A Terry frisk is a cursory protective search for weapons that create an imminent danger to an officer or others in close proximity.

A Terry frisk is justified only by reasonable suspicion that the suspect is armed and dangerous. It is not automatic because the police did a terry stop.

112
Q

Differentiate the justification for:

Terry Stop v. Terry Frisk

A

Terry Stop: reasonable suspicion that a crime is happening or about to happen

Terry Frisk: reasonable suspicion that a suspect is armed and dangerous

113
Q

What is the scope of a Terry Frisk?

A

The exterior of the clothing to determine if there is a weapon

114
Q

What may an officer do if, in a Terry Frisk, the officer feels something he immediately knows is a weapon or contraband?

A

The plain touch doctrine: the officer may seize such contraband without a warrant.

115
Q

What may an officer do if, in a Terry Frisk, the officer feels something he immediately knows is not a weapon but upon manipulation, feels may be contraband?

A

The manipulation exceeds the scope of the Terry Frisk and the seizure is unreasonable.

116
Q

What are two circumstances where the Terry Frisk is extended beyond a person?

A
  1. In an automobile, where police have reasonable suspicion a person stopped will have immediate access to a weapon

And

  1. In a cursory sweep of the interior of a home, when police enter the home to serve a warrant based on reasonable suspicion that there are others who might be present and dangerous to the police
117
Q

What are administrative searches?

A

Agency compliance inspections whereby compliance with administrative regulations or health and safety codes are verified for a non-criminal purpose

More Info: Administrative Searches

118
Q

What are the requirements for administrative searches?

A

Reasonable suspicion

119
Q

What are the requirements to exclude/suppress evidence?

A
  1. The unreasonable search or seizure must trigger the remedy of exclusion
  2. The defendant claiming the remedy (seeking exclusion) must have standing

And

  1. The facts do not support applying an exception to the exclusionary rule
120
Q

Exclusion requires a violation of what rights?

A

The movant’s 4th Amendment privileges

121
Q

When does standing for exclusion occur?

A

The defendant must show that the unreasonable search or seizure intruded on his personal constitutional rights.

More Info: Standing for Exclusion

122
Q

When can a defendant assert standing for exclusion on someone else’s behalf?

A

Never

123
Q

What must a defendant show to prove standing for exclusion?

A

The defendant must first show that the 4th Amendment violation was directed against his 4th Amendment protection, not someone else’s.

124
Q

When does a defendant have standing for exclusion?

A

He has an ownership or a possessory interest in the place searched or the item seized

125
Q

Does the person in possession of a car rental have standing for exclusion?

A

Yes

126
Q

Do passengers of a car have standing to complain about searches of the car?

A

No

127
Q

When do guests in another’s home have standing for exclusion?

A
  1. Overnight guests have standing to challenge a search of the home

And

  1. Non-overnight guests do not have standing
128
Q

What is the effect of the exclusionary rule?

A

A defendant who has Fourth Amendment standing may invoke the exclusionary rule to prohibit the government from introducing evidence obtained as a direct or derivative result of an unreasonable search and seizure

129
Q

What is the fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine?

A

Any additional evidence derived from an initial illegality, is tainted fruit of the poisonous tree and thus suppressible.

More Info: Fruit of the Poisonous Tree Doctrine

130
Q

When is evidence tainted by fruit of the poisonous tree?

A

If there is a but-for connection between the evidence the prosecution seeks to admit and a violation of the defendant’s constitutional rights.

131
Q

Will a miranda violation qualify as a poison tree and taint further evidence?

A

No, the only consequence of a miranda violation is the inadmissibility of a confession.

132
Q

What are the exceptions to fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine?

A
  1. Independent source
  2. Attenuation

And

  1. Inevitable discovery
    * More Info:* Exceptions to the FPTD
133
Q

What is the independent source exception to the fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine?

A

If the evidence is obtained from a lawful independent source it is not tainted.

134
Q

What is the inevitable discovery exception to the fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine?

A

Future evidence is not tainted if the police establish they would have inevitably discovered the evidence through a different and independent source.

135
Q

What is the attenuation exception to the fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine?

A

Evidence may be so distant from the initial illegality that the taint of the poison is purged and the evidence is admissible.

More Info: Attenuation

136
Q

What is a common source of the attenuation exception?

A

When police obtain a voluntary confession following an unlawful arrest (as long as it does not come right after).

137
Q

What factors support attenuation?

A
  1. Evidence discovered in a different location
  2. The passage of time between discovery
  3. A different officer discovered

And

  1. A valid miranda warning
138
Q

What is the good faith exception to exclusion?

A

When police act in good faith reliance on a warrant that is subsequently ruled invalid, the evidence seized will not be subject to exclusion.

139
Q

What are the limits on the good faith exception to exclusion?

A

Inapplicable when:

  1. A reasonable officer would not have relied upon a warrant that is later found to be invalid
  2. An officer lies or misleads the magistrate
  3. Where the warrant is so facial defective that an officer should not rely upon it

Or

  1. Where the reasonable officer knows the magistrate is not neutral and attached