Week 7 Flashcards
What is the 4th amendment?
- “unreasonable searches and seizures”
- Applies only to the government and government agents (police, etc.)
- Applies only in cases with a “reasonable expectation of privacy”
- Overhearing a loud cell phone conversation or going through a person’s trash by the street are NOT searches/ seizures
What is a warrant and probable cause?
- Definition: A warrant is a legal document authorizing a search, seizure, or arrest
- Based on probable cause
- Definition: The term probable cause means reasonable likelihood that a crime was committed or evidence is present
What does the 4th amendment have to do with drunk driving?
- Drunk Driving: You have the right to refuse field sobriety tests (the physical exercises and such)—police must then have probable cause from other observations to arrest you
- Refusing to take a breathalyzer or blood alcohol test (chemical tests) can result in a 1-yr suspended license in states with Implied Consent Statutes (like PA)
- You must step out of your car when pulled over if the officer asks that you do so. You must also show identification. You do not have to answer personal questions.
What are warrantless arrests?
- In some cases, the Supreme Court has held that going through the formal warrant procedure is impractical or unnecessary.
- Warrantless Arrests:
- Felony arrests (police have probable cause to believe person has committed a felony)
- Example: Store reports armed robbery in progress. Police spot a man, one block from the store with a mask on his face, a gun in hand, and running away from the scene.
- Some misdemeanor arrests with probable cause
- Felony arrests (police have probable cause to believe person has committed a felony)
What is a Terry Stop(Stop and Frisk)
- A warrantless “search”
- Requires “reasonable suspicion” of criminal activity—more than a hunch, but not necessarily probable cause
- Police can temporarily detain the person, search him for weapons, request identification, and ask questions
What are some examples of Warrantless searches?
- Automobile exception—must have probable cause
- Search incident to arrest
- Plain view
- Consent searches (police ask and are given permission)
- Pressing circumstances (hot pursuit, lives in danger, etc.)
- Airport searches
- International border searches
- Sobriety checkpoints
What is the exculsionary rule?
- Weeks v U.S. (1914) & Mapp v Ohio (1961): Evidence obtained from an unreasonable (illegal) search/ seizure is inadmissible in court
- Good Faith Exception (U.S. v Leon 1984): If police believe the warrant is issued and valid, evidence can be admitted even if later there appears to be a problem with the warrant
What are other exceptions to the exclusionary rule?
- Other exceptions:
- Inevitable discovery exception: evidence would have been found anyway
- Attenuation exception: so much time has passed, or other events have made the illegal search/ seizure less meaningful
- Standing Exception: defendant’s own rights were not violated
- Ex: police find evidence of someone else’s illegal activities
What is the derivative evidence rule and what did police used to do in the past for the exclusionary rule?
- Derivative evidence rule (fruit of the poisonous tree): evidence derived from illegally obtained evidence is inadmissible
- In the past, police were required to knock before entering a home to execute a warrant. In Hudson v Michigan,( 2006), the Court held that if police violate this rule, the evidence will not be excluded.
The term “probable cause” is translated as _______.
A) reasonable likelihood that a crime was committed
B) reasonable suspicion that a crime was committed
C) hunch that a crime was committed
D) consent by the accused
reasonable likelihood that a crime was committed
A warrant is not required for a search incident to arrest.
A) TRUE
B) FALSE
False
What is the 5th amendement and what is the voluntariness test and the case associated with it?
- Protects against self-incrimination
- Voluntariness test: confessions are inadmissible unless made willingly
- Miranda v Arizona: U.S. Supreme Court held that custodial interrogation is inherently coercive because it places people in an intimidating environment
What is a Miranda Warning?
- Miranda warnings—must be given prior to interrogation upon arrest
- Idea is that people need to be informed of their constitutional rights
- Does NOT apply unless person is under arrest & being questionned
- Public Safety Exception
What are the Miranda Warnings?
- The person in custody must, prior to interrogation, be clearly informed:
- right to remain silent,
- that anything the person says can be used against that person in court;
- that he or she has the right to consult with an attorney and to have that attorney present during questioning,
- that, if he or she is indigent (poor), an attorney will be provided at no cost to represent her or him.
- right to end questioning or consult with a lawyer at any time.
What is the connection between the 4th and 5th amendment?
If a person is in custody & questioned without first being made aware of his rights, then the Exclusionary Rule applies
A bomb has just exploded in a public mall. Police quickly find a suspect fleeing the area with bomb-making supplies. Police need to question the man to determine if more bombs are in the mall or close by. Must the suspect be read the Miranda Warnings first?
A) Yes
B) No
No