Themis Essay 5502 Flashcards
A police officer who witnesses a traffic infraction has probable cause to
stop the car and issue a citation to the driver.
The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution does not require police to obtain a warrant to search a vehicle if they
have probable cause to believe that it contains contraband or evidence of a criminal activity.
The police may search anywhere in a car that they believe there to be contraband, including
the trunk and locked containers, so long as they have probable cause to do so.
Probable cause to conduct a search requires a police officer to have more than a reasonable suspicion that evidence of illegal conduct will be found, but does not require
the police officer to be certain that such evidence will be uncovered.
The use of a drug-sniffing dog does not violate
a reasonable expectation of privacy.
A defendant may move to suppress evidence seized during an
illegal search and seizure.
The Fourth Amendment protects persons from
unreasonable searches and seizures by the government.
After the conclusion of a traffic stop, absent reasonable suspicion, police extension of the stop in order to conduct a dog sniff
violates the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable seizures.
Under the exclusionary rule, evidence seized during an unlawful search
cannot constitute proof against the victim of the search.
The exclusionary rule applies not only to evidence initially seized as a result of the primary government illegality, but also to
secondary derivative evidence discovered as a result of the primary taint, also known as the “fruit of the poisonous tree.”
If a suspect is stopped for a traffic offense and given a citation but not arrested, then
there can be no search incident to lawful arrest.
A Terry stop is a
limited and temporary intrusion on an individual’s freedom of movement short of a full custodial arrest.
A stop is justified on the reasonable suspicion, based upon articulable facts, that the detainees
are or were involved in illegal activity.
Under the “plain feel” exception to the warrant requirement, if an officer conducting a valid frisk feels with an open hand an object that has physical characteristics that make its identity immediately obvious, then
the officer may seize the evidence.
Police may briefly seize items if the officers have a reasonable suspicion that
the item is or contains contraband.
