4th amendment Flashcards
(136 cards)
Katz v. US
facts: federal officers conducted warrantless surveillance of Katz’s conversations by bugging phone booth.
issue: was this bugging a search?
holding: yes
contributions:
-moves away from trespass doctrine requiring a physical trespass in order to constitute a search
-Katz test for telling use when there was a search
what is the Katz test?
- Did the person exhibit an actual (subjective) expectation of privacy?
- Is it an interest that society is prepared to recognize as reasonable?
what does the Katz test do?
tells us if there has been a search
US v. Dunn
- Facts: POs suspect D is producing drugs on his land so they place a beeper in chemicals; follow beepers to farm where they see a chem lab in a barn (no warrant, on the curtilage trying to get PC to get a warrant); altering seeing lab, they get warrant and search barn
- Issue: does D have a privacy interest in his curtilage, thus requiring officers to get a warrant?
- Holding: the barns were not in the curtilage, so the police officer had the right to be on the property b/c that property was in the open field
- Contributions:
- for the officer to be on the curtilage, have to have probable cause (minimum) b/c a person has a high expectation of privacy
- no privacy expectation in open field (no PC, no warrant)
- Dunn factors (to figure out where curtilage ends the open field begins)
definition of curtilage
area immediately surrounding the home
what level of privacy does the curtilage have?
high b/c people perform intimate or domestic activities in this are a that are associated with home life
what expectation of privacy does the open field have?
none-the police officer can be there at any time for any reason and can search
definition of open field
- the area beyond the curtilage
- doesn’t have to be a field
- term of art
example of an open field
someone else’s back yard (b/c it is an area beyond your curtilage)
as soon as the open field ends and turns into the curtilage, what does the officer need to search?
probable cause
what do the Dunn factors tell us and what are they?
- tell us when the curtilage ends and where the open field begins
- is TOC test: one factor not conclusive
- proximity of the land to the home (how close)
- whether the area is included within an enclosure surrounding the home (ex. fence)
- the nature of the use to which the area is put (how is it used? what are they doing there?)
- the steps taken by the resident to protect the area from observation from people passing by
acronym: PENS (proximity, enclosure, nature, steps)
remember: pens draw lines
California v. Greenwood - 1988
issue: whether the 4th amendment prohibits the warrantless search and seizure of garbage left for collection outside the home, outside the curtilage?
holding: a person has no reasonable expectation of privacy in garbage in an enclosed bag and left for collection outside the curtilage of a home. No search occurs, therefore, when a PO opens a trash bag left at the curb and sifts through it’s contents without a warrant
- fails on the second prong of Katz
- when you put it out there for public consumption, you have to expect all sort of people and animals might come by and one of them might be a police officer
Florida v. Riley - 1989
- katz goes on a plane
- facts: POs receive anonymous tip that D is growing MJ; fence around the building with a no trespass sign; POs flew a plane, saw MJ through missing patch of roof
- rule: no expectation of privacy in the curtilage from the air b/c anyone could be flying in that public airspace and look down on the curtilage
- so long as the PO is anywhere the public can be, he’s good
is there a privacy interest in the airspace above the curtilage of a house?
no, so long as PO is in a place where the public can be, he’s good. No PC or warrant required
(see Florida v. Riley)
exception: if the PO is in a place where he is likely to cause danger to people or property (ex. flying helicopter at 50 feet above curtilage) then this is a search and PC or warrant is required
(see Oakley case)
Dow Chemical
issue: does a business have the same protection of curtilage as the curtilage of a home?
holding: the curtilage of a business is not the same as curtilage surrounding theme.
- lesser expectation of privacy b/c home/domestic activities do not take place there and areas are often open to the public
is there the same expectation of privacy in the curtilage surrounding a business like there is in the curtilage of a home?
no, it is a lesser expectation of privacy b/c domestic/family activities do not take place there and these places are often open to the public
what is required to search a home?
a warrant
what is required to search the curtilage?
probable cause
Kyllo v. US - 2001
- facts: thermo imaging device pointed at house from sidewalk to figure out if D was growing MJ. Info used to gain PC to get a warrant
- issue: whether this pointing of the thermal imaging device at the home without a warrant was a lawful search?
holding: no b/c the technology used was not within the general public’s use - narrow holding
- Scalia is a Katz hater, does not use it here
- instead, equates this search to a physical trespass
- not overruled, ticking time bomb
what classification do bags fall into?
effects
US v. Place
- Katz at an airport
- Dog sniff is not a search b/c there is not intrusion into D’s bag
- POs are just detecting a scent coming from the bag, and there is no expectation of privacy in contraband
- so long as the sniff only detects contraband, the sniff is okay
- the sniff is also okay b/c it doesn’t disclose any other information about the contents of the bag
Illinois v. Caballes - 2005
facts: individual stopped for speeding, drug dogs brought w/i a reasonable amount of time, alerted to trunk, searched trunk
issue: whether the 4th amendment requires RAPS to justify using a drug detection dog to sniff a vehicle during a legitimate traffic stop?
holding/rule - no so long as the dog is brought w/i a reasonable time, within the context of the stop, and the character of the stop does not change
what type of things is the trunk of a car for the purposes of the 4th amendment?
effect
Florida v. Jardines
facts: PO believed person had drugs in home, brought drug dog up to door
POs cannot bring drug dogs up to your door to search b/c people only have licenses to come to your front door to do certain things (ex. mailman, visit friends)
Scalia opinion, once again uses the trespass doctrine