Warrant Clause Flashcards
Elements of a Warrant
- Affidavits (Franks v. DE)
- Magistrates (compare Johnson v. Jackson and Logi Sales)
- Particularity: Place
- Particularity: Items
- Entry/Execution
- People on Premises (compare Ybarra and Summers)
Affidavit
A sworn statement, best if written, often consisting of
(1) the officer’s observations and
(2) an informant (Franks v. DE).
Magistrates requirements
Neutral (Johnson v. Jackson) and detached (Logi Sales (porn judge)).
When is probable cause sufficient to excuse an error in a search warrant?
If a reasonable officer could identify the place intended, even if minor errors exist on the warrant.
When should an officer “knock and announce?”
Always, unless there exists reasonable suspicion based on exigent circumstances (Payton v. N.Y.).
What constitutes exigent circumstances?
Reasonable suspicion regarding
- Danger to the Officers, but must use reasonable force (Garner v. Tenn)
- Destructibility of Evidence (but see Welsh (sleepy DUI))
- Possibility of Flight, but only for pubic arrests (Watson)
- Traffic Stops, generally for the reasons above (Robinson (cited 4 days before, second stop found heroin in cigarette box)
What is required for to create an anticipatory search warrant?
There must be probable cause as to
(1) that the triggering event will occur, and
(2) that the contraband listed on the search warrant will be found (Grubbs).
What do exigent circumstances not allow?
- Officers are not allowed to create the exigent circumstances, unless it comes as a result of their reasonable and lawful fulfillment of their duties.
- Exigent circumstances cannot create a general warrant.
Can having an arrest warrant for someone at a third party’s house cover contraband found in plain view? What about overnight visitors staying at the arrestee’s residence?
No. There’s an extra interest at stake: the owner’s/guest’s reasonable expectation of privacy (Olsen), and any contraband found would be fruit of the poisonous tree. Therefore, government agents would need a search warrant as well (Steagald; Chimel).
Could a search warrant be rehabilitated if it contains an erroneous affidavit?
Yes, but only if there is a “good faith” exception, e.g. probable cause sufficient to excuse an error.
What, if any, issues does are dubious regarding the current formulation of probable cause?
– Probable cause, even if once existed, may go stale by the time it’s acted upon––except for cars (Wells v. Fla.)
– “Encompassing Clauses” have been shown to be too broad for the particularity requirement (MD v. Garrison), and so courts limit searches to “as specific as the circumstances and the nature of the activity permitted.”
– This is especially convoluted regarding searching data and drives––including phones (Riley v. CA).
When does detention constitute a Fourth Amendment seizure?
Always.
What, if any, limitations are placed on detention of individuals while a search is conducted?
– Reasonable amount of time (McArthur; but Muelher)
– Reasonable force for securing person (Summers v. Michigan)
– Spatially constrained to the immediate vicinity of the premises to be searched (Bailey)
– No “Murder Scene” exception to the Warrant Clause (Mincy)
– Requires reasonable suspicion to detain a limited group without questioning (Miss. v. Davis)
When, if ever, are blanket warrants upheld?
Where there’s probable cause to search all on premises, e.g., crack houses, brothels, illegal gambling, etc. (Ybarra). The stronger the nexus between the person unnamed in the search warrant with the person and/or place on the search warrant, the more likely government agents are able to search them.
Under what circumstances can destructibility of evidence NOT create exigent circumstances?
When the charge and/or penalty is for a nonjailable offense, which defeats the reasonability of exigent circumstances (Welsh).
Describe the relationship of government agents to the creation of exigent circumstances.
Government agents are not allowed to create exigent circumstances unless impracticable (Vale). However, government agents do not create exigent circumstances when they act in an entirely lawful manner (KY v. King).
What is a government agent allowed to do during a traffic stop regarding searches without a search warrant?
(1) Search anything of owner or occupants (Houghton), including unlabeled containers (Acevedo) in the passenger compartment (Belton) or whole car with probable cause (Maroney)––as long as it’s
(a) within reaching distance of the individual at the time of the search and
(b) reasonable to believe that the car has evidence of the offense of arrest (Gant)––
(2) as well as order the occupants out of the car (PA v. Minns).
3 approaches to determining pretext searches
Under Whren, whether an officer reasonably…
1. “did, in fact,” (rejected as subjective motive analysis)
2. “would’ve” (rejected as a proxy for subjective standard)
3. “could’ve” (accepted as objectively standard)
…perform[ed] a search.
When is probable cause sufficient to excuse an error in the grounds for an arrest?
If the government agent at least knew of facts that provided an alternative probable cause on which a legitimate arrest could have been made (Atwata), so as to avoid penalizing them for citing the wrong code.
Why are government agents allowed to perform searches during a traffic stop?
- Cars are mobile, i.e. risk of flight
- There’s a lessened reasonable expectation of privacy for cars as effects because they’re pervasively regulated (Carney)
- Traffic stops always have safety concerns for officers
- The limited time involved––as compared with detention at a government facility––is shorter and, thus, more convenient for the innocent (see Chambers).
Pretext Search
Pretext searches” are unconstitutional abuses of the fourth amendment. A pretext search is one where the justification proffered by the State for the search is legally sufficient, but where the searching officer was in fact searching for another, legally insufficient, reason. This is almost impossible to show in the case of a traffic stop.
What limitations are there regarding traffic stop searches without a search warrant?
(1) A government agent can only search to the extent that the search is commensurate with the violation (Knowels), and
(2) if the agent orders the occupants out of the car, the agent cannot body search them without probable cause or the persons are being arrested (Di Re).
When are and aren’t government agents permitted to use drug dogs regarding traffic stops?
– Allowed during a routine traffic stop (Caballes)
– Prohibited at sobriety checkpoints (Edmunds)
When are police allowed to search a car without consent, search warrant, exigent circumstances, incident to arrest, probable cause, or even reasonable suspicion?
During an inventory search, as long as it
(1) follows standard police procedures, and
(2) is not a pretext concealing an investigatory police motive (Wells).
