Pg 22 Flashcards
Are airport searches OK?
Yes, for example all passengers are searched before boarding via an x-ray. It’s OK because it is a general regulatory scheme that is not arbitrary
Do prisoners have an expectation of privacy?
Their expectation of privacy yields to institutional security
Is it possible for prison guards to censor inmate’s mail in order to look for escape plans or criminal activity?
Yes
Is it permissible for prison guards to eavesdrop on conversations between visitors and prisoners?
Yes, because prisoners have no reasonable expectation of privacy
If a prisoner keeps a diary and guards search his cell and read it and then use the information in it against him, is that OK?
Yes, because in order to have a fourth amendment right against unreasonable searches and seizures, a person must have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the place being searched or the items being seized, and prisoners do not have this in their cell or their property
What is the essence of probation or parole?
Conditional release to help people rehabilitate and not re-commit crime
If the probation system wants to do a search of a probationer or parolee’s home without a warrant, is that OK?
Yes, because it is generally a condition of probation or parole or to submit to be searched any time without a warrant or probable cause.
What is required before you can do a search without a warrant of a probationer’s home?
Reasonable suspicion that he is violating the terms of his probation or reasonable suspicion to investigate a new crime
What is a parolee?
Someone who is released from prison before his sentence is completed on condition that he will abide by certain rules for the balance of his sentence. He stays in the legal custody of the prison and he has to comply with all requirements
Do parolees have expectations of privacy?
They have a super diminished expectation of privacy and they are extensively supervised. The government has a high interest in preventing recidivism, so suspicionless searches are reasonable
Who has a higher expectation of privacy, a probationer, or a parolee?
Probationers have a higher expectation of privacy than a parolee because a parolee is more akin to a prisoner than a probationer is
What rights under the fourth amendment do students at school have?
School authorities fall under a balancing test if they want to do a search without a warrant or probable cause. They must have reasonable grounds to suspect that evidence will turn up, or that the student has violated a law or school rule. The search must also be reasonable in scope and not excessively intrusive considering the student’s age, sex, or nature of the infraction
Can school authorities do a strip search on a 13-year-old down to her underwear looking for pills?
No, this is excessive because the content of the suspicion doesn’t match the degree of the intrusion.
What are the two things that are balanced when it comes to deciding whether a search of a student at school is OK under the camera balancing test?
Consider the student’s privacy interests against the school official’s need to maintain school order. School officials only need reasonable grounds to do a search of students, they do not need probable cause
What is required in order for school officials to do drug testing on student athletes?
Because there is a legitimate goal of government determining drug use and harm to players that outweighs the privacy interest, school officials do not need individual suspicion since the students voluntarily subject themselves to greater regulations and less expectation of privacy
