Exam 3

Question 1

When did English monarchs issue writs of assistance?

Answer 1

At the beginning of a monarch’s reign

Question 2

Compare the government’s seizure of property with its search of property.

Answer 2

Seizure is when government interferes with an individual’s possession of an item, while a search is when the government acquires information by physically intruding on private spaces that carry a reasonable expectation of privacy

Question 3

If you tell your friend that you are keeping two sets of company books to defraud the IRS, and that friend reports you to the police, this is covered by what doctrine?

Answer 3

Third-party doctrine

Question 4

In U.S. v. Miller (1976), on what basis did SCOTUS decide that using bank records to convict a suspect did not violate Fourth Amendment protections?

Answer 4

Miller did not own or possess any of the papers used

Question 5

In U.S. v. Gañías (2014), on what grounds did the panel rule that the seizure of Ganias’ computer files for more than two years did not violate Fourth Amendment protections?

Answer 5

The seizure was conducted in good-faith reliance of the previously issued search warrant.

Question 6

Why does SCOTUS consider the discovery and measurement of heat from a home by law enforcement to be a Fourth Amendment search?

Answer 6

Thermal imaging provides information about the interior of a constitutionally protected space that couldn’t otherwise be obtained without physical entry.

Question 7

When a private individual conducts a search and subsequently shares what that search revealed with law enforcement,__________

Answer 7

This search falls under the private search doctrine.

Question 8

Based on the reasonable expectation of privacy doctrine, which of the following would be considered a search?

Answer 8

Eavesdropping on a telephone conversation

Question 9

If an action by government is determined to be a search or seizure, what characteristic is central to determining whether the search or seizure triggers Fourth Amendment protections?

Answer 9

Reasonableness

Question 10

The reasonable expectation of privacy test must meet both the _________ and _________ privacy tests in order to apply

Answer 10

Subjective and objective

Question 11

In California v. Greenwood (1988), SCOTUS held that a police search of an individual’s garbage that had been put out for garbage collectors was considered ______________.

Answer 11

Permissible without a warrant

Question 12

According to existing case law and in terms of privacy protections, the court views emails as analogous to ______________.

Answer 12

Phone calls

Question 13

The reasonable expectation of privacy doctrine changed the Court’s view of a Fourth Amendment violation in what way?

Answer 13

It emphasized the reasonable protection of people’s privacy in addition to protection from invasion of private spaces.

Question 14

Prior to 1967, what aspect of a search did SCOTUS consider its most defining characteristic?

Answer 14

Physically invading private spaces.

Question 15

In State v. Patiño (2012), the Rhode Island Supreme Court ruled that the defendant had no reasonable expectation of privacy in any _____________

Answer 15

Of his sent text messages.

Question 16

Prior to 1967, constitutionally protected private property did not include ___________

Answer 16

Phone booths.

Question 17

According to existing case law, asking an Internet Service Provider (ISP) to turn over email records for a suspect ________________.

Answer 17

Is considered a Fourth Amendment search.

Question 18

In State v. Patiño (2012), the justices argued that the defendant had no reasonable expectation of privacy in his sent text messages because _________________.

Answer 18

The sender had no control the text messages after they were sent.

Question 19

How does SCOTUS view information obtained by private citizens and subsequently shared with law enforcement?

Answer 19

As a legal search.

Question 20

Why did James Otis claim that the writs of assistance were illegal in a free society?

Answer 20

They didn’t specify a person, place, or date for the search.

Question 21

In U.S. v. Jones (2012), the majority opinion issued by SCOTUS ruled that the use of a Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking device to collect evidence constituted a search because the police _________________.

Answer 21

Trespassed on private property to install it.

Question 22

Compare the subjective and objective privacy prongs of the reasonable expectation of privacy test.

Answer 22

Subjective privacy is the individual’s expectation of privacy in a certain situation, while objective privacy is whether society is prepared to recognize that expectation as reasonable.

Question 23

The doctrine that limits the power of the police to access only the information that the private search party found is called the _______________.

Answer 23

Private-search reconstruction doctrine.

Question 24

Seizures of property are defined by the Supreme Court of the United States as _______________.

Answer 24

Interfering with a persons possession of property.

Question 25

What did British monarchs use writs of assistance for?

Answer 25

To collect taxes in England and customs in the American colonies.