Pg 19 Flashcards
What is the plain view doctrine that is an exception to needing a warrant?
If police are in a place that they have the lawful right to be, it is not a search if they observe items lying in plain view and they can see those items if the character of the evidence is immediately apparent
What is the rationale behind the plain view doctrine?
When the police are lawfully positioned to observe an item firsthand, the owner’s privacy interest in the item is lost
What are the elements that are needed for the plain view doctrine to apply?
- police officer is rightfully present
- officer sees evidence, fruits, or instrumentalities of crime in plain view
– he immediately recognizes that they are contraband and thus has probable cause
If a police officer is standing on the road looking through a window of a house and sees contraband, does he need a warrant to enter?
Yes.
What are examples of technology that are not considered to be in general public use that if a police officer uses are considered to be a search?
X-rays, wire tapping, high-powered telescopes, infrared, etc.
If a police officer uses a common means of enhancing his senses like a flashlight or binoculars, is that considered to be a search?
No
If a police officer uses his natural senses while he is lawfully present in a motel room to hear a conversation that is happening in the next room with the naked year, or if he smells incriminating odors, is that considered to be a search?
No
If a Coast Guard uses a search light at night to see on a boat, or does photo surveillance, or uses trained dogs, are those considered to be intrusions on expectations of privacy?
No, those are allowed
If a police officer tries to move or examine an item that he finds lying in plain view, has a search occurred?
Yes
If a police officer sees a TV in a gross apartment and thinks it is stolen, so he moves it to find the serial numbers, does the plain view doctrine apply?
As soon as he moves the item, the plain view doctrine did not apply anymore because the numbers were not immediately apparent
What are the things that police officers can seize if they are in plain view?
Contraband, fruit of a crime, or instrumentalities or evidence of a crime. If a police officer finds a ski mask that was used in a recent robbery and it is in plain view, he can seize it
Can a police officer seize a computer under the plain view doctrine?
Only if its criminal character is immediately apparent. Ie: the officer cannot seize a computer as plain view in a warrant for child pornography because although the computer is in plain view, its contents are not
When can a police officer seize an automobile under the plain view doctrine?
Only if the vehicle’s status as evidence is immediately apparent. I.e.: if the police think that a suspect used a vehicle in a murder, and the car is in plain view in a driveway, that doesn’t mean that it openly has evidence of crime, so they cannot seize it under this doctrine
Drug dealers often carry cocaine in knotted balloons, so if a police officer sees one, can he seize it under the plain view doctrine even though the drugs are not in plain view?
Yes, because of his knowledge about the use of balloons by drug dealers he can surmise its contents even though he can’t actually see the drugs
Once the items that are listed in a warrant are found, can police continue to look around to see if they can find anything else in plain view?
No
If you smell contraband does that count as being in plain view?
No, unless the cop sees it, he can’t search for it
What is involved in the exception to a warrant for a stop and frisk?
Police need a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity in a completed crime as well as articulable facts to reasonably warrant an intrusion into the person or property of the subject for an investigative purpose. This allows police officers to do a brief investigative seizure based on reasonable suspicion that crime is afoot if there is threat to public safety or two non-suspects that might have information
Under the warrant exception for stop and frisk, is it OK for police officers to temporarily detain someone to pat them down?
Yes, but only if they have reasonable grounds to believe that criminal activity is afoot
What is the rationale for a stop and frisk?
Officer safety, the safety of others in the vicinity, and crime prevention
What is the key to stop and frisk?
Reasonableness. Police need reasonable grounds to believe that crime is afoot. Police must be able to show specific and articulable facts that would, under the circumstances, lead a reasonable officer to a rational inference that a crime was taking place
If an investigating officer asks for and holds the suspect’s identification while running a warrant check, is that a seizure?
Not if the retention is brief
Where did stop and frisk come from?
Terry v Ohio: A cop saw guys on the street casing a jewellery store, he questioned them, they just mumbled, so he grabbed one and frisked his outer clothes and found a gun, so he arrested all of them. The frisk wasn’t a search for evidence, the police officer was just making sure he wasn’t in danger, and his motive wasn’t evidentiary, it was protective.
What is the purpose of a stop and frisk?
To confirm or dispel a cop’s suspicion.
– if it is confirmed: that blossoms into probable cause and an arrest can happen
– if not: the seizure ends
What are grounds to do a stop and frisk?
If police see unusual conduct that makes them reasonably conclude that criminal activity is afoot. The conduct can be going on, being planned, or have just happened
