The Reasonableness Clause Flashcards
o Terry v. Ohio (1968)
Where a police officer reasonably believes criminal activity to be afoot and that the suspects may be armed and dangerous, they may conduct a carefully limited search of the outer clothing in an attempt to discover weapons
* Seizure of a person occurs when law enforcement restrains a suspect’s liberty by means of physical force or a show of authority
* Not allowed to frisk for anything but weapons; but if officer comes upon something else, they can grab it
o Dunaway v. New York (1979)
Where police pick up the suspect at a neighbor’s house and bring him in for questioning, this constitutes a full seizure under the 4th amendment and must be supported by probable cause, even though the suspect was not told he was under arrest
Reasonable suspicion is not enough
o US v. Mendenhall (1980)
Suspect at the airport who fit the drug courier profile consented to a search in the DEA office upstairs, as she disrobed, she handed 2 packages to the agents, one of which had heroin
Split decisions, no clear majority but 5 justices believe the police acted lawfully
Important language that has become law: seizure occurs under totality of circumstances when a reasonable person would believe he was not free to leave
- SEIZURE – OBJECTIVE TEST (NOT FREE TO LEAVE)
o The police officer must intentionally employ physical force or a show of authority for the officers’ actions to result in a seizure
o As long as the officer intentionally employs force or makes a show of authority, the officer’s purpose need not be to detain the defendant in order for the defendant to be seized. Consequently, when a police officer makes a traffic stop, not only the driver but also any passengers are deemed to be seized. Therefore, the passenger as well as the driver may challenge the constitutionality of the stop
o Pursuant to a lawful stop of a vehicle, police may conduct a search of the passenger compartment for weapons if: (DCL)
The police possess reasonable belief that the suspect is dangerous and may gain immediate control of weapons; and
The search of the passenger compartment is limited to those areas in which a weapon may be placed or hidden
- COMPARING TERRY SEIZURES TO ARRESTS
o When police hold a suspect beyond the amount of time necessary to effectuate the purpose of a terry stop, the seizure becomes an arrest and must be supported by probable cause
o Bus Sweeps:
- HELD: that law enforcement did not seize passengers by boarding the bus and asking for consent to search luggage (or person). Reasonable innocent person would have felt free to terminate the encounter
o Chases: California v. Hadari D (1991)
- Seizure by show of authority (rather than physical force) requires submission to ripen into a seizure. This, a suspect who runs away is not yet seized.
o Alabama v. White (1990)
After receiving an anonymous tip predicting that white will leave a particular apartment in a particular car going to a specific destination while carrying coke, police watched while some of this information was being corroborated
HELD: even though a close case, police had reasonable suspicion to stop the car before it reached the destination
o Illinois v. Wardlow (2000)
A suspects unprovoked flight from police, in a high crime area, may be enough to create a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity, thus permitting an investigatory stop and frisk for weapons
o Maryland v. Buie (1990)
Law enforcement may undertake a warrantless protective sweep of premises while effectuating an arrest
This sweep must be supported by reasonable suspicion that a dangerous person might be on the scene
