Chapter 4 (Case Law) Flashcards
Case law for Tips
Alabama v. White - In this case, a tipster called 911 and told the Police that the Defendant was driving to a motel with cocaine and gave other relevant, specific information. Using this, the Police searched Defendant and found drugs. Defendant moved to suppress this evidence obtained by the police, but the Court ruled that the search and seizure was proper and lawful as the tip had an indicia of reliability.
Case law for Frisks
Arizona v. Johnson - The police stopped a car on account of suspended registration. As the police looked into the car, they saw that Defendant (who was a passenger) had a gang bandana, wore a radio device, had no ID, and told the officer that he was previously convicted of burglary charges. The police officer did a pat down, finding a gun. Defendant was arrested and moved to suppress the evidence found at the stop but the Court ruled the search and seizure to be lawful.
MN v. Dickerson - Officer was performing a frisk when he rolled a lump between his fingers to determine if it was crack. Court ruled search was unlawful as you can’t use frisk to gather evidence other than a weapon
Case Law Checkpoints/Roadblocks
Michigan v. Sitz - Checkpoint stopping drunk driver serves an important public interest because of special need of highway safety
City of Indianapolis v. Edmond - Checkpoints to search for drugs is unlawful and there is no connection between the use of roads and possession of drugs, which means no special need is addressed through this checkpoint, only general criminal activity
Case law High Crime Area
Illinois v. Wardlow - The police were converging on an area known for heavy narcotics trafficking. They saw a man with an opaque bag, who immediately fled the scene upon seeing the police. They eventually cornered him and did a search, finding a gun. High crime area + reasonable suspicion led the cops in light of their training and experience to do a search.
