Chapter 6 notes pt. 3

Question 1

the process by which police examine a person or property to find evidence that will be used to prove guilt in a criminal trial

Answer 1

search

Question 2

what are the two-pronged tests, established by John Harlan Jr., for a person’s expectation of privacy?

Answer 2

1. the individual must prove that she or he expected privacy
2. society must recognize that expectation as reasonable

Question 3

a written order, based on probable cause and issued by a judge or magistrate, commanding that police officers or criminal investigators search a specific person, place, or property to obtain evidence.

Answer 3

search warrant

Question 4

what must law enforcement officers provide before a judge or magistrate can issue a search warrant?

Answer 4

1. information showing probable cause that a crime has been or will be committed
2. specific info on the premises to be searched, the suspects to be found, and the illegal activities taking place at those premises,and the items to be seized.

Question 5

What is the purpose of a search warrant?

Answer 5

to establish, before a search, that a probable cause to search justifies infringing on the suspect’s reasonable expectation of privacy.

Question 6

a written statement of facts, confirmed by the oath or affirmation of the party making it and made before a person having the authority to administer the oath or affirmation

Answer 6

affidavit

Question 7

the forcible taking of a person or property in response to a violation of the law

Answer 7

seizure

Question 8

List the four categories of items that can be seized by use of a search warrant.

Answer 8

1. items resulting from the crime, such as a stolen good
2. items that are inherently illegal for anybody to possess (with certain exceptions),(ex.narcotics and counterfeit currency)
3. items that can be called “evidence” of the crime (ex. blood-stained sneaker)
4. items used in committing the crime (ex. such as an ice pick or a printing press used to make counterfeit bills)

Question 9

what are the two most important circumstances in which a warrant isn’t needed are?

Answer 9

1. searches incidental to an arrest

2. consent searches

Question 10

as long as the original arrest was based on probable cause, searches incidental to arrests are valid for what two reasons?

Answer 10

1. the need for a police officer to find and confiscate any weapons a suspect may be carrying
2. the need to protect the suspect’s person from being destroyed

Question 11

searches by police that are made after the subject of the search has agreed to the action

Answer 11

consent searches

Question 12

true or false: if you give consent to a law enforcement officer they can search you

Answer 12

true

Question 13

the most relevant factors in determining whether consent is voluntary are what?

Answer 13

1. the age, intelligence, and physical condition of the consenting suspect
2. any coercive behavior by the police, such as the language used to request consent
3. the length of the questioning and its location

Question 14

warrantless searches of automobiles are only allowed if?

Answer 14

1. the person being arrested is close enough to grab or destroy evidence or a weapon inside the car
2. the arresting officer reasonably believes that the car contains evidence pertinent to the same crime which the arrest took place

Question 15

the court ruled that law enforcement officers may make a warrantless seizure of an item if what criteria are met?

Answer 15

1. the item is positioned so as to be detected easily by an officer’s sight or some other sense
2. the officer is legally in a position to notice the item in question
3. the discovery of the item is inadvertent (they didn’t intend to find it)
4. the officer immediately recognizes the illegal nature of the item