Search and Seizure

Question 1

Define a 4th amendment search

Answer 1

A “search” occurs when an expectation of privacy that society is prepared to consider reasonable is infringed.

Question 2

Recognize the conditions under which the 4th amendment applies to a search or seizure

Answer 2

A search may be of a location, a vehicle, or a person.

Question 3

Define the search warrant rule

Answer 3

Warrantless searches and seizures are per se unreasonable – subject only to a few specifically established and well‐defined exceptions.

Question 4

Define the elements of a valid search warrant

Answer 4

(1) Reasonableness;
(2) Probable cause;
(3) Particularity; and
(4) Oath or affirmation/affidavit

Question 5

Define the elements of a valid search warrant affidavit

Answer 5

Probable cause + Nexus
(1) The factual scenario must be sufficient to warrant a
reasonably cautious or prudent person to believe that a crime is
being committed or that one has been committed.
(2) There must be an adequate showing that the fruits of the crime or the evidence thereof are in the place to be searched.

There must be established a sufficient nexus between

(1) the criminal activity,
(2) the thing(s) to be seized, and
(3) and place(s) to be searched.

Some underlying factual information, as opposed to mere suspicionsor conclusory statements, must be supplied.

Question 6

Recognize the statutory parameters and process of executing a valid search warrant in Wyoming

Answer 6

(A) INITIATE EXECUTION of the warrant within a specified time NOT TO EXCEED 10 DAYS.
(B) EXECUTE the warrant BETWEEN 6:00 A.M. to 10:00 P.M., UNLESS THE JUDICIAL OFFICER FOR GOOD CAUSE EXPRESSLY AUTHORIZES, IN THE
WARRANT, EXECUTION AT ANOTHER TIME.

Question 7

Recognize the conditions under which a night time warrant service may be valid in Wyoming

Answer 7

If a person works odd hours.

Question 8

Recognize the conditions under which a no knock warrant service may be valid in Wyoming

Answer 8

(1) Circumstances present a threat of physical force;
(2) There is reason to believe that evidence would likely be destroyed if advance notice were given; and/or
(3) Knocking and announcing would be “futile.

Question 9

Define and differentiate the abandoned property doctrine

Answer 9

property whose owner has voluntarily
discarded, left behind, or otherwise relinquished his or her interest in the property in question so that the owner could no longer retain a reasonable expectation of privacy with regard to it.

Question 10

Define and differentiate the public view doctrine

Answer 10

-What a person knowingly exposes to the public, even in his own home or office, is not a subject of Fourth Amendment protection

Question 11

Define and differentiate the open fields doctrine

Answer 11

• The Fourth Amendment does not apply to “open fields.”
• Open Fields: The portions of a person’s premises lying outside the “curtilage” of the home or business are “open fields.”

Question 12

Define and differentiate the consent doctrine

Answer 12

The search of property, without warrant and without probable cause, but with proper consent voluntarily given, is valid under the Fourth Amendment.

Question 13

Define and differentiate the plain view exception

Answer 13

(1) Valid presence.
(2) Incriminating character of object seized must be immediately apparent.
(3) Lawful access to the object itself (otherwise must get a warrant to seize the item(s)).
4) Discovery of the item does not have to be inadvertent but an officer cannot expand the scope of the original search (it must bear a “reasonable relationship” to the purpose of the search).

Question 14

Define and differentiate the exigency exception

Answer 14

Exigencies of the situation make the needs of law enforcement so compelling that a warrantless search is objectively reasonable under the Fourth Amendment.

There is a compelling need for official action and no time to secure a warrant.

Question 15

Define and differentiate the search Incident to Arrest exception

Answer 15

When an arrest is made, it is reasonable for the arresting officer to:

(1) Search the arrestee’s person to:
- remove any weapons the arrestee might seek to use to resist arrest or escape; and
- search and seize any evidence on the arrestee’s person to prevent its concealment or destruction.

(2) Search areas within the arrestee’s immediate control.
- This means the area from which the arrestee might gain possession of a weapon or destructible evidence.

Question 16

Define and differentiate the vehicle exception

Answer 16

If there is probable cause to believe a vehicle contains evidence of criminal activity, an officer is authorized to search any area of the vehicle in which the evidence may be found, without a warrant. U.S. v. Ross, 456
U.S. 798 (1982).
Why is a warrant not required?
(1) The inherent mobility of vehicles.
(2) The expectation of privacy with respect to one’s automobile is diminished.

Question 17

Define and differentiate the community caretaker exception

Answer 17

-The community caretaker exception pertains to police encounters with citizens in public places and in their vehicles under circumstances giving rise to concerns about their welfare or safety, even though the
circumstances do not present an emergency.
-It applies generally to places and situations where there is a lower expectation of privacy than in a person’s residence or home.
-The exception requires a specific and articulable concern for public safety requiring the officer’s general assistance.
-In such cases, law enforcement may to a limited extent intrude on a citizen’s privacy if there is an articulable threat to public safety that the officer believes must be addressed.

Question 18

Define and differentiate the vehicle inventory exception

Answer 18

• Inventory: When vehicles are impounded, local police departments generally follow a routine practice of securing and inventorying the contents.
• Purpose: (1) Protect the owner’s property;
  (2) Protect police against claims or disputes over lost or stolen property; and
  (3) Protect police from potential danger.
• Requirements:
• Must be conducted according to stated department policy and procedure.
• Standardized criteria or established routine must regulate the opening of containers.
• Must not be a ruse for a general rummaging to discover incriminating evidence.

Question 19

Define and differentiate the administrative search exception for public schools

Answer 19

• Reasonableness: The school official’s search must be reasonable, under all the circumstances.
• (1) Was the action justified at its inception?
• Reasonable grounds for suspecting that the search will turn up evidence that the student has violated or is violating either the law or the rules of the school.
  (2) Was the search, as actually conducted, reasonably related in scope to the circumstances that justified the interference in the first place?
• The measures adopted must be reasonably related to the objectives of the search and not excessively intrusive in light of (a) the age and sex of the student and (b) the nature of the infraction.

Question 20

Define the parameters of a Terry Stop in Wyoming

Answer 20

• Grounds for Stop: An officer may conduct a brief, investigatory stop when the officer has a reasonable, articulable suspicion that criminal activity is afoot.
• Nature of the Stop: The officer may ask the detainee a moderate number of questions to determine his identity and to try to obtain information confirming or dispelling the officer’s suspicions.
• The detainee is not obligated to respond.
• Unless the detainee’s answers provide the officer with probable cause to arrest him, he must be released.

Question 21

Define the parameters of a Terry Frisk in Wyoming

Answer 21

• Grounds to Frisk: To frisk an individual lawfully, the police officer must have a reasonable belief that the person stopped is armed and dangerous.
• Purpose:
  (1) Officer safety; and (2) To check for weapons.
• Applies to Vehicle Stops: Police may conduct a pat down search of a passenger in an automobile that has been lawfully stopped for a minor traffic violation, provided the police reasonably suspect the passenger is armed and dangerous.

Question 22

Define the 2 part legal test to determine reasonableness in Terry v Ohio

Answer 22

– First – was the initial detention justified –
supported a reasonable articulable suspicion

– Second – are the actions of the officer –
questions, frisk, length of detention
reasonably related in scope to the
circumstances that justified the stop in the first
place

Question 23

Define the 6 factors used to determine the reasonableness of detaining a person near the scene of a crime e

Answer 23

1. HOW GOOD IS THE DESCRIPTION AND
DOES IT MATCH THE SUSPECT
2. THE SIZE OF THE AREA OF SEARCH IN
RELATION TO THE TIME OF OFFENSE
3. NUMBER OF PERSONS IN AREA
4. KNOWN DIRECTION OF PERPETRATOR’S
FLIGHT
5. OBSERVED ACTIVITY OF SUSPECT
6. KNOWLEDGE ABOUT SUSPECTS PRIORS

Question 24

Define the parameters of the length of a reasonable investigative detention

Answer 24

Only long enough to fulfill the purpose of the
original stop unless you develop more evidence
rising to a reasonable articulable suspicion.