The Fourth Amendment Flashcards
What does the Fourth Amendment prohibit?
unreasonable searches and seizures; requirement that there be a warrant.
Seizure
any exercise of control by a government agent over a person or thing.
When does probable cause exist?
when a reasonably prudent person would believe that a suspect has committed or is committing a crime.
All arrests must be based on ________.
probable cause
When are arrest warrants generally not needed?
when arresting someone in a public place.
How does an unlawful arrest, by itself, impact a future criminal case?
it doesn’t
What must the police have in order to perform a Terry Stop?
the police must have a reasonable suspicion supported by articulable facts.
How is it determined that the police have a reasonable suspicion?
totality of the circumstances
When does an informant’s tip suffice to create a reasonable suspicion?
when the tip has some indicia of reliability.
When can the police stop a car?
when they have reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed.
Is a sniff from a dog a search?
No, unless the police extend the stop longer than is necessary to issue a ticket or conduct normal inquiries.
A dog’s alerting to the presence of drugs in a vehicle is enough to establish . . .
probable cause
Can the police use a drug-sniffing dog outside the home of a suspected drug dealer?
no, that is a search.
A stop of an automobile constitutes a stop of what occupants?
all occupants in the vehicle including the driver.
When is a police roadblock/checkpoint unconstitutional?
when it is put up for the sole purpose of getting incriminating information from drivers
When may an officer ask occupants out of a car?
when the car is lawfully stopped.
Is an officer’s ulterior motive behind stopping a car relevant for purposes of search and seizure?
only if the car was unlawfully stopped. If the officer had reasonable suspicion to pull the vehicle over, then the ulterior motive of the officer is irrelevant.
What is considered government conduct in the context of search and seizure?
the publicly paid police (LAPD); private individuals acting at the direction of the publicly paid police; and privately paid police who are deputized with the power to arrest people (KU campus police).
In order to object to a governmental search, one must have what?
standing to challenge the search
When does one have standing to challenge a governmental search?
when one has a reasonable expectation of privacy in the item or place searched.
When do you always have standing to challenge a governmental search?
when you own and/or live on the premises being searched. You need not own it if you live on it.
Do overnight guests have standing to challenge a search of the place they are staying?
yes
When do you have standing to challenge a search of personal property that is seized?
you must have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the seized property.
In what things does someone never have a reasonable expectation of privacy in?
your voice; the style of your writing; the paint on the side of your car; account records at the bank; the location of your vehicle when on the public streets or your driveway; anything that can be seen across open fields; anything that can be seen from the public air space; odors emanating from one’s car or luggage; and the garbage set out on the curb for collection. Basically, anything you hold out to the public you have no reasonable expectation of privacy in.
The installation of a GPS on one’s car is a . . .
search
For a search warrant to be valid, what must one have?
1) probable cause; and 2) particularity.
What is the standard for one having probable cause to get a search warrant?
there must be a fair probability that contraband or evidence of a crime will be found in the area searched.
What does particularity in the context of a search warrant mean?
the warrant must state with particularity the place to be searched and the things to be seized.
Must a request for a search warrant be absolutely certain of what items are going to be in the place searched?
No. A warrant can be anticipatory; i.e. it can predict what the police expect to find, but the items need not be there at the time of the search.
If an officer’s affidavit or probable cause is based on informant information, its sufficiency is determined by . . .
the totality of the circumstances.
When can an anonymous informant’s information be used it getting a search warrant?
the affidavit can be *partially based on an anonymous informant’s information, but not all of it.
Who has the power to execute a warrant?
only the police, not private citizens.
Can the police be accompanied by third parties when executing a search warrant?
Generally, no. However, those who are there to identify stolen property can accompany the police.
The arrest of an individual must be ____________. If the arrest of someone was unlawful, then the search is unlawful.
lawful
Can an arrest and a search take place at different times?
no, they must be contemporaneous.
When someone is arrested, what can be searched?
the person and everything in their wingspan.
When can the police search the interior of a vehicle incident to a lawful arrest?
only if 1) the arrestee is unsecured and still may gain access to the interior of the vehicle; or 2) the police reasonably believe that evidence of the offense for which the person was arrested may be found in the vehicle.
Can the police search digital information contained in an arrested person’s cell phone without a warrant?
No
If before searching anyone/anywhere, the police have probable cause to believe that material used in a crime is in a vehicle, the police may search what parts of the car?
the entire car and all containers contained therein which could reasonably contain the items believed to be in the car.
If criminal material other than the material sought in the search is found during the course of the search, is it admissible?
Only if it is found in a place where the material that was actually sought could also have been reasonably located. If you’re searching for stolen TVs, and open an Altoids container and find drugs, the drugs won’t be admissible, since a TV cannot reasonably be located in an Altoids tin.
