Reasonableness Flashcards
Defining difference between administrative warrants search warrants
The primary purpose of an administrative warrant is administrative, while a search warrant is criminal (Clifford).
Prerequisite for administrative warrants
– Flexible probable cause
– Particularity
– Issued by a magistrate
Determination of Flexible Probable Cause
Weigh government interest with private interest in terms of reasonableness.
Can an administrative warrant be used to search a house for criminal evidence?
Probably not. (Clifford v. Mich) However, states may use police officers as the administers of administrative warrants, despite a mixed purpose, as long as at least one element is administrative (Burgers).
Determination of administrative warrants in cases
- Is government intrusion administrative?
- Was there flexible probable cause?
- Is an administrative warrant necessary?
What is the justification for administrative warrants?
- Long history of judicial and public acceptance
- Public interest demands prevention/abatement of dangerous conditions, requiring close inspection by an expert.
- The inspections are
(a) neither personal in nature
(b) nor aimed at the discovery of evidence of crime, and
(c) involve a relatively limited invasion of privacy (Camara).
Administrative Search Criteria
Must involve
(1) a substantial government interest (based on regulatory scheme) where
(2) search is necessary to further regulatory scheme, and
(3) the statutory inspection program––insofar as
(a) certainty,
(b) regularity, and
(c) limitations of the search––must be a sufficient to supplant a warrant (Burger).
Terry Stop
Cops may, consistent with the Fourth Amendment, conduct a brief, investigatory stop when the officer has a reasonable, articulable suspicion that criminal activity is afoot (less than probable cause, similar to flexible probable cause).
Terry Frisk
Cops may conduct a frisk limited to that which is necessary for the discovery of weapons which might be used to harm cops or others nearby.
Can an anonymous tip give grounds for reasonable suspicion?
Possibly. An anonymous tip cannot test veracity of informant, and even accurate description of a suspect’s appearance is not enough UNLESS the tip is reliable in its assertion of illegality, not just in its tendency to identify a determinate person (J.L.).
Basis for Reasonable Suspicion
No empirical evidence is used to draw conclusions. Rather, reasonable suspicion must be based on common-sense judgments and inferences about human behavior (Wardlow).
Factors for Reasonableness of a Terry Stop
- Articulable and reasonable facts lead to reasonable suspicion
- Brevity of investigative detention reasonable (Sharpe)
Factors for invalidating a Terry Stop
- Was there a seizure?
2. At some point, did the investigative stop become an arrest? (Dunaway)
Factors determining if a Terry Stop became an arrest
- Duration
- Location (e.g., public v. private)
- Show of weapons
- Intrusiveness of means used
- Diligence of officer
Qualifications for informants regarding Terry Stops
– Aguilar/Spinelli is not applied (Navarette)
– Tip must be reliable in its assertion of illegality (J.L.)
Can government agents use non-racially related qualifications to profile for possible criminals?
Possibly. In Sokolow, agents stopped the suspect based on a common drug-courier profile (source city, no luggage, nervousness, gaudy clothes, etc.), and the Supreme Court ruled that what mattered was whether this person in this situation met the profile.
Qualification for finding contraband in a Terry Stop & Frisk
The contraband must be immediately apparent as such, without manipulation (Dickerson).
Can a government agent, acting on a mistaken understanding of law, find probable cause?
Yes. Reasonable mistakes as to fact can still give rise to probable cause (see MD v. Garrison, and so reasonable mistakes can still give rise to law (Heinen).
Must a person, during a Terry Stop, provide ID to the officer?
Yes. ID is a legitimate part of a Terry Stop (Hiibel).
Factors for invalidating a Terry Stop
- Was there a seizure?
2. At some point, did the investigative stop become an arrest? If so, was there probable cause? (Dunaway)
Factors for invalidating a Terry Stop
- Was there a seizure?
2. At some point, did the investigative stop become an arrest? If so, was there probable cause? (Dunaway)
Special Needs Test
The hazards the intrusion addresses must be specific, real, well designed to identify criminals, and be a credible means to deter criminal activity that ordinary law enforcement methods would not suffice to apprehend. The ultimate interest of a special need cannot be general “crime control.”
Reasonableness of Special Needs
Determining the reasonableness of any search:
(1) was the action was justified at its inception
(2) was the search reasonably related in scope to the circumstances which justified the interference in the first place.
Special Needs Test
The hazards the intrusion addresses must be specific, real, well designed to identify criminals, and be a credible means to deter criminal activity that ordinary law enforcement methods would not suffice to apprehend (Chandler). The ultimate interest of a special need cannot be general crime control (Ferguson).
