Search and Seizure

Question 1

Exclusionary Rule

Answer 1

evidence obtained from an unreasonable search and seizure are not admissible in court

Weeks v. U.S. (1914) & Mapp v. Ohio (1961)

Question 2

Search

Katz v. United States (1967)

Answer 2

A place may be protected from 4th Amendment searches if:
* a person exhibits an actual expectation of privacy
* the expectation is one that society is prepared to recognize as reasonable

Question 3

U.S. v. White (1971)

Answer 3

An informant/undercover agent may simultaneously record thier conversations with a defendant using electronic equipment on their person; or carry radio equipment that transmits to recording equipment elseqhere or to other agents without violating the 4th Amendment.

Question 4

Smith v. Maryland (1979)

3rd-Party Doctrine

Answer 4

A person has no legitimate expectation of privacy in information voluntarily given to a 3rd party.

Question 5

U.S. v. Place (1983)

Dog sniffs!

Answer 5

Dog sniffs don’t violate the 4th Amendment search protections because it is a limited disclosure of the contents of luggage

disclosure is only of the presence or absence of illegal substance

Question 6

Illinois v. Caballes (2005)

Answer 6

Official conduct that doesn’t compromise any legitimate interest in privacy isn’t a serach; government conduct that only reveals the possession of contraband doesn’t compromise legitimate privacy interests.

Question 7

Hester v. United States (1924)

Open fields? Curtilage?

Answer 7

Open fields doctrine provides that police entry of an open field doesn’t implicate the 4th Amendment; no constitutional protection of open fields

Question 8

What is an open field?

Hester v. United States (1924)

Answer 8

includes any unocccupied or undeveloped area outside of the curtilage and the home

Question 9

What is curtilage?

Hester v. U.S. (1924)

Answer 9

Land that extends from the sancityt of the home to the immediate land surrounding and associated with the home.

Question 10

What are the factors used to determine whether land is curtilage?

U.S. v. Dunn (1987)

Answer 10

• Proximity of area claimed to be curtilage to the home
• whether an area is included in an enclosure surrounding the home
• nature of the use of the area and steps taken by resident to protect the area from observation by passersby

Question 11

Is the use of aerial surveillance to secure information in a defendant’s yard a violation of the 4th Amendment?

California v. Ciraolo (1986)

Answer 11

No, because the airspace above the home is publicly navigable.

Question 12

Can police search trash left outside for pick up?

California v. Greenwood (1988)

Answer 12

Yes. There is no reasonable expectation of privacy in trash left outside of the curtilage for pickup.

Question 13

Kyllo v. U.S. (2001)

Answer 13

When police use a device that isn’t in general public use to explore the details fo the home that would’ve previously been unknowable without physical intrusion, the surveillance is a search and presumpively unreasonable without a warrant.

Question 14

U.S. v. Jones (2012)

Answer 14

Where there is a physical intrusion of a constitutionally protected area, there is a lesser burden on the defendant to show a reasonable expectation of privacy.

Question 15

When is information given to third-parties protected by the 4th Amendment?

Carpenter v. U.S. (2018); three-part test

Answer 15

• the records obtained are only available because of digital technology;
• records were created without meaningful voluntary choice by the user;
• records tend to reveal the privacies of life.

Question 16

Carpenter v. U.S. (2018)

Answer 16

There is a reasonable expectation of privacy in thier physical movements as captured through cell-site location information.

Question 17

What are the three categories of seizable items?

Answer 17

1. Contraband
2. fruit of a crime
3. mere evidence

Question 18

Contraband

Answer 18

evidence that a private party may not lawfully possess

Question 19

fruit of a crime

Answer 19

instrumentalities used in the commission of an offense

Question 20

Mere evidence

Answer 20

evidence that will aid in a partiuclar apprehension or conviction

Question 21

U.S. v. Karo (1984)

Answer 21

a seizure of property occurs when there is some meaningful interferences iwth an individual’s possessory interests in that property.

Question 22

What 4 questions should you ask when approaching a 4th Amendment problem?

Answer 22

1. Was there a search or seizure? (Was the search or seizure conducted by a government actor?)
2. Was there probable cause?
3. Was there a valid warrant? (Was the warrant defective or did the police act in bad faith?)
4. Was there an exception to the warrant requirement?