Criminal Procedure Flashcards
4 reqs for search and seizure to be governed by 4A:
- S&S executed by gov. agent
- S&S was of an area/item protected by 4A
- Gov agent physically intruded on or violated reasonable expectation of privacy in a protected area
- Individual subject to S&S has standing
Who’s a “gov agent”?
- Publicly-paid cops
- Private citizens, if acting at direction of police
- Private security, if deputized w/ power to arrest
- Public school administrators
Areas/items expressly protected by 4A:
- persons
- houses
- papers
- effects
Items/areas NOT protected by 4A:
- paint scrapings on outsider of car
- bank accounts
- anything visible from public airspace
- garbage left at curb
- sound of voice
- odors
- style of handwriting
- open fields
What is the test for “reasonable expectation of privacy?”
Objective AND subjective test
Test for standing to challenge search/seizure:
Must be your personal privacy rights that were invaded, not a 3rd party’s
When D uses someone else’s residence for biz purposes, standing to challenge S&S?
No
When D is a car passenger, standing to challenge S&S?
No
NY: special rule for passengers in a car to challenge S&S
Can challenge possession of weapons, if attributed to them
3 reqs to make a warrant valid:
- Neutral/detached magistrate
- Supported by PC and particularity (OR cop relied on it in good faith)
- Properly executed by police
Standard for PC for purposes of getting a warrant:
Requires proof of a fair probability that contraband or evidence of crime will be found in the area searched
Can hearsay evidence be used to furnish PC for a warrant?
Yes
Can police rely on informants’ tips to furnish PC?
Yes, even if ANONYMOUS.
MBE: requires corroboration by police of enough of the info to allow magistrate to make a “common sense” determination based on a totality of the circumstances
NY: must establish informant’s basis of knowledge AND reliability/veracity (“Aguilar-Spinelli”)
Warrant’s particularity req:
Must specify the place to be searched and the items seized
Good faith exception to warrant’s PC/particularity req:
If cop relies in good faith, the warrant is still valid
But NOT in NY!
4 exceptions to warrant’s “good faith exception”:
- affidavit supporting warrant is so egregiously lacking that no reasonable officer would’ve relied on it
- warrant is so facially deficient in particularity that officers couldn’t reasonably presume it valid
- affidavit contains knowing/reckless falsehoods
- magistrate is biased in favor of prosecution
What must police do to properly execute a warrant?
- comply w/ warrant
2. knock and announce their presence/purpose before entering
When does an officer NOT have to knock and announce?
when cop reasonably believes that K&A would be futile, dangerous, or inhibit the investigation
8 exceptions to warrant req: (“ESCAPIST”)
Exigent circumstances Search incident to arrest Consent Automobile Plain view search Inventory Special needs Terry stop and frisk
Exigent circumstances don’t require a warrant. Example:
- Evanescent evidence
- Hot pursuit of fleeing felon
- Emergency aid exception
“Emergency aid” exception to warrant:
Cop can enter a residence w/o warrant when there is objectively reasonable basis for believing a person inside needs emergency aid
Reqs for SITA:
- arrest must be lawful
- search must be contemporaneous in time and place w/ arrest
- search must be limited to arrestee’s wingspan (body, clothing, any containers w/in immediate control)
***NY: officer can search containers w/in wingspan ONLY if he suspects that arrestee is armed
Special rules for searching cars incident to arrest:
Warrantless search is valid only if:
- arrestee is unsecured and still may gain access to the interior of the automobile, OR
- police reasonably believe that the automobile contains evidence of the crime for which the occupant was arrested
When is consent sufficient to search a person w/o warrant?
When consent is voluntary and intelligent
What if consent to search is obtained from a person who didn’t have actual authority to give consent?
Consent is still valid if officer reasonably believed the person had actual authority
When can cops search an automobile w/o warrant, and what is the scope of the search?
When they have PC that contraband or evidence of a crime will be found inside. Cops can search ENTIRE vehicle, and can open any container that may reasonably contain the items for which there was PC to search (can’t open a water bottle if you’re looking for a big item)
When can cops seize property in plain view w/o a warrant?
- officer has lawful access to place from which items can be plainly seen
- officer has lawful access to the item itself, and
- criminality of the item is immediately apparent
When is suspicionless drug testing not permitted?
When its primary purpose is to gather crim evidence for general use by law enforcement
Terry stop def:
Brief seizure for purpose of investigating suspicionless conduct when there are specific fcts that inform cop’s belief that crim activity is present
Terry stop: when has a “seizure” occurred?
When, based on totality of the circumstances, a reasonable person would not feel free to leave or decline cop’s questioning
When is a person “seized” when being pursued by a cop?
MBE: when he submits to cop’s authority by stopping OR cop physically restrains him
NY: pursuit IS seizure