CP Ch. 11- The Constitutional Definition of a Search Flashcards
Authority to search is regulated by the fourth Amendment to the United State Constitution and:
Article 14 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights.
Are public school administrators subject to constitutional guidelines?
Must follow SOME constitutional guidelines, because their investigations may have criminal consequences.
Constitutional guidelines public school administrators must follow:
- No warrant requirement, but must have REASONABLE SUSPICION in order to search. Their method must be appropriate given:
-the circumstances of the search (what are they looking for?)
-nature of the offense (gun on campus vs smoking in bathroom)
-and the student age and sex (17 y/o football player vs 8 year old with special needs)
In addition to the probable cause mandate, the process of obtaining a warrant protects:
Citizens.
Foundations of constitutional regulation: Searches are NOT subject to constitutional regulation unless two conditions are met:
- State action (LEO, government)
- Reasonable expectation of privacy- search must intrude on the suspect’s reasonable expectation of privacy
Search activity undertaken by individuals who are not police officers: Sometimes their actions are regulated by the constitution when they are connected to Law Enforcement:
Yes or no:
AOL monitoring emails for child porn?
National Center for Exploited and Missing Children examined files?
AOL, no.
NCEMC- Yes, since it works in partnership with the government to detect and prosecute pornographers.
Private citizens do not become “police agent” just because they decide to conduct a search or turn over evidence to law enforcement. Private parties only become agents when they conduct a search:
at the direction, encouragement, or instigation of officers.
Ex. Psych nurse told police patient robbed a bank and turned the gun over to them. Valid. evidence was admissible.
While police may not arrange searches by private citizens, they are under no obligation to:
discourage them.
The police may take advantage of a citizens desire to help them, so long as they do not:
direct the effort.
This is true even if authorities later reward the person for obtaining evidence.
“an unencouraged hope to curry favor” (inmate convinced defendant to admit rape) does not turn one into a government agent.
In the process of providing routine treatment or tests, medical personnel may discover evidence. These clinicians are not considered to be police agents if their procedures were undertaken for (blank) and not to (blank)
for treatment, and not to benefit police.
Ex. surgeon removed bullet from the defendant and turned it over to police; not acting as their agent because it was medically necessary.
True of false:
Private security is typically regulated by the constitution (for searches, etc).
False.
- Still, a POLICE intrusion must still comply with the Constitution, even if based on information from private security.
Is a person conducting a search automatically a “state actor” if he is employed by the government?
No.
Ex. meter reader employed by municipal electric dept found evidence- not considered a search subject to constitutional regulation.
The Fourth Amendment and Article 14 are clear about what is protected from unreasonable police intrusion: (3)
A citizens:
- body
- homes
- possessions.
“reasonable expectation of privacy”
There are three constitutional justifications to enter private areas:
- warrant
- consent
- exception to the warrant requirement
- no constitutional justification needed in non-private areas.
Reasonable expectation of privacy: Street mindset:
“Am I entering an area or doing something that a member of the public might reasonably do?”
Reasonable expectation of privacy: The defendant must show that, at the time of the police intrusion, he had a (blank) expectation of privacy in the place searched or item seized, that (2):
- Subjective expectation
- that society accepts as reasonable. (objectively reasonable)
Officers must always have probable cause or consent to search a person for evidence. Officers need reasonable suspicion to frisk:
for their own protection.
Citizens ALWAYS have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their body.
Does viewing a persons shoes (shoeprints) constitute a search?
No.
Footprints on the ground are visible for all to see. People display soles of shoes when they climb stairs, put their feet up on furniture, etc.
Expectation of privacy in clothing that is ripped or cut off in order to receive medical treatment?
No.
Expectation of privacy in clothes taken and store for safekeeping by hospital staff in preparation for treatment?
Yes.
Retained an expectation of privacy in clothes that would be returned to him before discharge. Police had to have legal basis to seize cloths: warrant, consent, exigent circumstances.
Heightened security is permitted in areas where citizens expect less privacy: classic examples include:
-Metal detector at airport; schools; government buildings
-Border searches by federal officials
Do convicted citizens have any less expectation of privacy than the general public?
Yes.
-Person on probation may be searched by probation officer (or police assisting probation officer) on reasonable suspicion
-If search will take place in probationers home, then a search warrant based on REASONABLE SUSPICION
- Consent or warrant based on reasonable suspicion to search a probationers cell phone
-Parole officers may conduct a warrantless search of a parolees home, if there is reasonable suspicion of a parole violation
Do pre-trial detainees at a correctional facility have an expectation of privacy in their possessions (shoes for example)?
No.
DNA Database
DNA samples may be taken from every felon :
upon conviction.
When is a warrantless search of a parolee’s home permitted?
When there is reasonable suspicion that there is evidence of a parole violation in the home.
The greatest constitutional protection extends to a home- historically known as:
The curtilage.
“The poorest man may in his cottage bid defiance to all the forces of the crown. It may be frail, its roof may shake; the wind may blow though it; the storms may enter, the rain may enter, but the king of england cannot enter; all his forces dare not cross the threshold of the ruined tenement.”
Are hotel or motel rooms considered a dwelling?
Yes. Hotel or motel guests are entitled to expect privacy in their rooms.
However, if they are properly evicted, guest lose their right to privacy. Eviction by innkeepers does NOT require advance notice to the guest.
