TX: Search and Seizure

Question 1

T/F: A warrant is not required for the arrest of a person that is publicly intoxicated and found in a suspicious place.

Answer 1

True. If a person has been found in a suspicious place and under circumstances that reasonably show that the person is guilty of a felony, disorderly conduct, a breach of the peace, or public intoxication, or is about to commit some offense, a warrant is unnecessary.

Question 2

T/F: Where an officer personally observes the commission of an offense, a warrant is not required to arrest the person.

Answer 2

True.

Question 3

T/F: No warrant is needed if the officer has recovered stolen property and the defendant is believed to have stolen it.

Answer 3

True.

Question 4

T/F: If an officer believes that a person has committed a felony, she can arrest without a warrant.

Answer 4

False. If an officer believes that a person has committed a felony, she needs a warrant to arrest him unless he is about to escape.

Question 5

What must a valid search warrant have?

Answer 5

A valid search warrant must name or describe, as nearly as may be possible, the person, place, or thing to be searched, must identify, as nearly as may be possible, the object of the search, i.e., that which is to be seized, and must be signed and dated by magistrate.