4th amendment Flashcards
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
US v. Jones
- Evidence gained after a warrant has expired by leaving a GPS device on a car can be suppressed b/c it is a physical intrusion and violates the trespass doctrine.
- Scalia again using the trespass doctrine.
does customs have the right to open a container for any reason w/o a warrant at the international border?
yes
Illinois v. Andreas
- The standard for opening and resealing of a container only restores the individual’s privacy interest if there is a substantial likelihood that the contents could have changed between the gap in surveillance.
- so if contents could have changed during gap = privacy interest is restored
US v. White
b/c a person takes a risk in telling another about their illegal activity, although you may have a subjective expectation of privacy, it is not one that society is prepared to recognize as reasonable (false friends doctrine)
what is the false friends doctrine?
talking to a friend that is wearing a wire or is an undercover officer does not constitute a search b/c there is no expectation of privacy in what is said to this person in terms of what society is prepared to recognize as reasonable
what must all searches and seizures be?
reasonable
what supports a warrant?
probable cause
what is the process of getting a warrant?
police officers go out, conduct information and look for PC to put in their PC bag. When they have conducted independent police corroboration and they think they have enough in their PC bag they take the bag to the magistrate, who opens it and makes the final decision on whether there is enough PC to issue the warrant.
what is the idea behind a warrant?
that a neutral person (magistrate) is involved between the PO and the government that looks at the evidence objectively to protect the rights of the individual as well as the PO
what are the 3 methods in which a PO can get a warrant?
- physical write up and stand before magistrate
- telephone warrant
- e-warrant
definition of an arrest warrant
we have PC to believe this person committed a crime - gives the PO authority to seize the person
what type of authority does an arrest warrant grant?
the limited authority to enter a dwelling where the suspect lives when there is reason to believe the suspect is inside (emphasis: police officers have to believe the suspect is inside)
if police officers have an arrest warrant, go to a home where they believe the suspect is and they can’t find him, can they search the home?
can only search places in the home where the suspect might be (ex. can search inside a jewelry box)
Payton v. NY
facts: NY statute authorized the entry into a home to make a routine felony arrest; POs had PC to believe Payton had committed a murder, shell cases were found in plain view
-arrest warrant, founded on PC, implicitly carries with it the limited authority to enter a dwelling in which the suspect lives when there is reason to believe the suspect is within (have to believe the suspect is there at that particular time).
-standard: a warrant is necessary to go into a home and search regardless of whether it is a person or things
if suspect not present in home, POs can search anywhere in the home the suspect might be
what is the difference b/t a search warrant and an arrest warrant?
arrest = says to the person being arrested that POs have gotten PC, gone to a magistrate, who decides there is PC for the person being arrested (protects the individual and let’s them know they have not been unjustly arrested)
search=says that the magistrate has determine there are objects of contraband in your home or in this place and we have the right to search it (more broad than the arrest warrant)
can an arrest warrant be used to search the home of a third party?
No, that requires a separate warrant. See Stegald
Stegald v. US
facts: POs have an arrest warrant for Lyons and they believe he is in Stegald’s home; POs entered Stegald’s home and find cocaine; no Lyons but they get a search warrant to search the house
-Searching the home of a 3P with just an arrest warrant is an unlawful search of the 3P’s home b/c 3P has highest expectation of privacy in home and a magistrate did not consider such search when issuing the arrest warrant. -There are also less intrusive alternatives.
So can’t search the home of another with only an arrest warrant for a different person
when does the clock start ticking for a suspect to open the door when police have a warrant and they knock and announce?
when they knock
what is the standard regarding knock and announce?
- is not whether the person has time to come to the door
- is how long it would take the person to destroy the evidence in question
do police have to knock and announce under the 4th amendment?
no
when the police choose to knock and announce, how must they do so?
with a reasonable fashion
what opportunity does the knock and announce allow for the suspect?
the opportunity to save their door
do police have to knock if they have a warrant to search a home and there is a threat to their health, safety or welfare
no
-can also get a no knock warrant
US v. Banks
facts: POs believed Banks was selling cocaine from his home; POs knocked and announced their presence; after waiting 15-20 second they broke down door. Was that 15-20 a reasonable time to wait? (yes, however case not provide a hard and fast reasonable time)
When police choose to knock and announce, the clock starts ticking when they knock and the door and they must wait a reasonable amount of time (subject to reasonableness) before breaking down the door. A reasonable amount of time is determined in relationship to how long it would take the suspect to destroy the evidence in question. (standard)
what are the two types of information that will go into the probable cause bag?
(1) direct information = information from the police officer’s personal observation
(2) hearsay information = information coming from another person outside the PO
what two questions does a magistrate have to ask about hearsay information when it comes to determining the trustworthiness of the information? (Aguilar Spinelli 2 prong test)
(1) what is the basis of the 3P’s knowledge?
2) what is the 3P’s veracity (truthfulness
what 2 things measure veractiy
- veracity is used by a magistrate to determine the trustworthiness of 3P information in terms of probable cause
- measured by the 3P’s (1) credibility (how close they were to what happened and (2) reliability how many times has this person given info that turned out to be true
what is the test for probable cause
- TOC approach
- ask: is there a fair probability that evidence of a particular crime will be found at a particular place or particular person committed the crime (Illinois v. Gates)
which case establishes the test for probable cause?
Illinois v. Gates
when police officers are doing the wrong thing, which 2 things help protect D?
- the fact that the magistrate serves as intermediary b/t law enforcement and the individual
- and that a second judge will look at the evidence in a motion to suppress the evidence