Arrests, Searches, & Seizures) Flashcards
What are the core considerations of the 4th Amendment?
Protecting people’s rights to privacy & freedom from unreasonable intruseions by the Government.
What situation would allow for a warrantless arrest?
- When a crime is committed in the officer’s presence
- When the officer has prbable cause to believe that the suspect committed a felony
What are the elements of the warrant requirment?
- Application for the warrant
- Issuance of the warrant
- Execution of the warrant
What must the applications for warrant’s provide?
probable cause to find that Items specifically described by the affiant in the application will be found in the place (or on the person) specifically designated to be searched.
Issuance of the warrant must be
- With proper signatures & seals of authority
- By a neutral & detached issuing authority
- With jurisdiction over the area to be searched
How must a warrant be executed?
In a reasonable manner
What makes execution of a warrant reasonable?
Officers give reasonable notice & afford the occupants a reasonable amount of time to peaceably surrender
notice to the occupants of their presence, purpose, and authority
What are the exceptions for the warrant requirment?
There are seven
- Searches incident to a lawful arrest
- Consent
- Plain View Searches
- Stop & Frisk
- Hot pursuit
- inventory searches
- exigent curcumstances
What is probable cause?
a fair probability that a crime has been committed and that the person to be arrested committed the crime.
How to establish probable cause sufficient to obtain a search warrant?
- A showing of a fair probability that the items sought are evidence of criminal activity
- the items are presently located at the specified place described in the search warrant application
If a valid warrant contains a mistake will the search violate the 4th Amendment?
No, as long as the police acted reasonably a search under an otherwise valid warrant won’t violate the 4th amendment
Marryland v. Garrison
What determins if a warrant is still valid if it is too broad?
Was the officer’s failure to realize that the warrant was too broad objectivly understandable and reasonable.
Four courners of the warrant
An issuing Judge can only rely on the info contained in the affidavit of probable cause to
Franks. V. DE
When an affidavit of prbable cause contains false info that was knowingly or recklessly included, it is not valid
A Franks Hearing
The mere falsity of affidavit information is not enough to make the warrant defective, D must prove that the officers knowingly or recklessly used materially false information to obtain their warrant.
Where can an officer execute a warrant?
Anywhere on the premises that the items described in the search warrant may be hidden.
Knock & Announce Rule
Police executing a warrant generally must not immediately force their way into a residence. They must first knock, identify themselves & their intent, & wait a reasonable amount of time to be let in.
Part of a judge’s reasonableness or a search analysis
Is there a federal exclusinary rule for violations of Knock & Announce?
No
Exceptions to knock & announce
if K&A would be unreasonable i.e: risk of injury or destruction of evidence. exception is determined on a case-by-case basis
What is a search?
any intrusion by the government into any space where you have a reasonable expectation of privacy.
Reasonable Expectation of Privacy
1) An individual has exhibited an actual (subjective) expectation of privacy
2) the expectation is one that society is prepared to recognize as reasonable
When does a seizure occur?
when conduct would communicate to a reasonable person, taking into account the circumstances surrounding the encounter, that the person is not free to ignore the police presence and leave at his will
Elements of a seizure
1) must be a show of authority by the police officer
2) the person being seized must submit to the authority.
Absent certain exceptions, a warrentless search is…
Per se unreasonable
