Search and Seizure Flashcards
To expound on the application of the Fourth Amendment as it relates to Police operations and to Department Policy
State the Fourth Amendment
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated and no warrants shall issue but on probable cause supported by oath or affirmation and particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized.
The Fourth Amendment protects an expectation of privacy that must be both:
- Reasonable
2. Legitimate
To which seven things, places, or circumstances does the Fourth Amendment NOT apply.
- Open View
- Lack of Standing
- Trash not on curtilage
- Detention Facilities
- Abandoned Property
- Non-Agent Citizen
- Searches at Airports beyond security
It is the policy of The Department that officers shall obtain search warrants unless one of the following six exceptions applies.
- Search of a person incident to lawful arrest.
- Inventory
- Consent
- Plain View
- Exigent Circumstances (Hot pursuit etc.)
- Vehicle Search Warrant Exception
Define Abandonment
Objective words or actions which clearly show that a person has disclaimed ownership, dominion, and control over real or personal property.
Define Administrative Checkpoint
These are “Policy Justified” searches which do not require reasonable suspicion or probable cause. However , the intrusion in such cases must be brief and slight, and the determination of which cars to stop must be made according to some articulable, non-arbitrary standard.
Define Blood Draw
The collection of a blood sample to determine the presence of drugs or alcohol when submitted for laboratory analysis could determine a person’s level of impairment. This sample may be obtained with consent or search warrant.
Define Body Cavity Search
Any search involving the internal physical examination of body cavities and, in some instances, organs such as the the stomach cavity, performed by a physician or other medically trained personnel.
Define Consent
Agreement, approval, or permission to act. A person giving consent must: 1. Be Informed 2. Not Coerced 3. Have Standing 4. Actual Search is Private
The legal protection associated with curtilage is always determined in favor of:
The property owner, not law enforcement.
Define Consensual Encounter
A completely voluntary police interaction with members of the public, requiring no legal justification for the interaction, where a reasonable person would feel free to disregard the police and go about their business.
Define Consensual Entry
Entry by invitation by a person with standing.
Define Curtilage
Areas near a residence where the residents have an actual and reasonable expectation of privacy.
Define: Duplicate Original Search Warrant
A document used pursuant to Nevada Law, which is required for a telephonic search warrant.
Define Exigent Circumstance
A time-critical exception to the search warrant requirement that requires probable cause to justify a warrant-less entry to:
- Prevent the destruction of evidence of a serious felony offense.
- Effect a warrant-less arrest of a violent or dangerous suspect who officers have PC to believe committed a serious felony whom may escape if not apprehended.
- To preserve life or render aid.
Regarding Exigent Circumstance, officers cannot:
- Create the exigency
2. Use a ruse to affect warrant-less search
When is a forced blood draw appropriate?
When the subject has refused to provide a sample in compliance with a valid search warrant and has been informed that the warrant authorizes the use of reasonable force to collect the blood sample.
Define Forced Entry
Entry into a structure that requires the use of force or a tool to gain entry and may cause damage to the structure.
Define GPS Consensual Deployment
Installation of GPS tracker with permission of the property owner or under circumstances where the taking or theft of the tracker does not involve a subject with standing related to said property.
Define Hot Pursuit
A sub-category of “Exigent Circumstances” where a dangerous or felony suspect is fleeing from law enforcement and an officer has direct knowledge of the suspect’s location which would justify an exigent circumstances entry apprehension.
Define Investigative Detention
Also known as a “Terry Stop” it is a seizure of a person for no more than 60 minutes, with limited scope and purpose of conducting an investigation and for which a police officer must have reasonable suspicion that a person is committing, has committed, or is about to commit a crime. NRS 171.123
Define “Judge Shopping”
The solicitation of a second judge after an initial judge refuses to authorize a search warrant.
Define Motor Vehilce
Any vehicle operating or capable of operating on public streets or highways, including automobiles, trucks, trailers, recreational vehicles, mobile homes, motor homes, motor cycles, and any other type of vehicle, whether self-propelled or towed.
Discuss Open View
The Fourth Amendment does not protect what a person knowingly exposes to the public regardless of where that exposure takes place. However, while the observation of something that is in “open view” does not amount to a search, a warrantless seizure is not justified absent a specific exception to the warrant requirement. “Open view” and “plain view” are not the same.
Define Pat Down
An open hand contact of a subject’s outer clothing to detect weapons on a person or contained within items “immediately associated with a person.” (i.e. purse, backpack, etc.) The “pat down” is based on reasonable suspicion or articulable facts that the person may be armed and dangerous.
Define Piggyback Warrant
An additional warrant acquired following the service of a primary warrant. It is based on evidence found during the execution of the primary warrant that would exceed the scope of the primary warrant if seized.
Discuss Plain Feel
If during ta Pat Down the officer feels an item that is not suspected to be a weapon, but is immediately apparent from the mass and shape that the item is probably contraband; the officer can legally seize the item. However, the officer is not permitted to conduct additional searches or even change grip on an item to determine that it is contraband.
Define Plain View
Plain View is an exception to the general search warrant requirement. For a plain view seizure to be reasonable, the officer must satisfy three requirements:
- The officer must be in a position in which he has a legal right to be.
- The item’s incriminating character must be immediately apparent.
- The officer must have a lawful right of access to the object itself without substantial additional intrusion. “Plain View” and “Open View” are not the same.
Define Premise Freeze
Entry into a premise, with probable cause but without a search warrant, for the purpose of clearing and securing the premises in anticipation of obtaining a search warrant. Note: No search shall occur prior to the search warrant being issued. A Premise Freeze will not be used as a pre-planned investigative technique.
Define Probable Cause
Exists when the facts and circumstances known to an officer would warrant a prudent man in believing that a crime had been committed and the accused had committed it.
What is a Probable Cause Search?
A search which is performed under a “Fair Probability” that the items sought to be seized will be contained in the premise sought to be searched.
Discuss Protective Sweep
When officers are lawfully present in a structure they may conduct a limited search of areas withing the structure to identify threats to the officer’s safety.
Define Reasonable Suspicion
Facts or circumstances which would lead a reasonable person to believe a crime has been, is being or is about to be committed.
What is a Sealing Order?
A court order issued upon a showing of “good cause” to protect the contents of an Application and Affidavit for a search warrant until a criminal complaint or indictment is filed or a court otherwise orders the Application and Affidavit for a search warrant unsealed.
Define Search
A search is a police intrusion on a reasonable and legitimate expectation of privacy.
