Seizures and Arrests

Question 1

Watson

Answer 1

A public arrest without a warrant is permissible, provided there is probable cause

Question 2

Mendenhall (Detained in the Airport)

Answer 2

A person has been “seized” within the meaning of the 4th Amendment only if, in view of all of the circumstances surrounding the incident, a reasonable person would have believed that he was not free to leave.

Question 3

Hodari D.

Answer 3

A seizure occurs when a person is seized by force or by a show of authority AND submission. There is no seizure when a person does not submit to police yelling stop or otherwise asserting his authority.

Question 4

Atwater

Answer 4

Under the 4th Amendment, police may arrest a person for a crime even when there is no possibility of a prison sentence (“even a very minor criminal offense”).

Question 5

Moore

Answer 5

State law does not dictate what is constitutionally reasonable in making a seizure. States can protect individual privacy more than the constitution does, but that is a matter for state law alone.

Constitutional Standard: An arrest is justified if it is based on probable cause (Watson).