Search Warrants and Exceptions
4th Amendment
Amendment governing Search Warrants
Consent
An exception to the search warrant requirement. Someone willingly and knowingly gives permission for police to search a place or person.
Automobile Exception
An exception to the warrant requirement, allows police to search an operable vehicle for evidence due to the immediate mobility of the vehicle. Can only search areas of the vehicle where the suspected evidence could possibly be located.
Incident to a lawful arrest
An exception to the warrant requirement. If an officer makes a lawful arrest, he can search the area of the car within the immediate wingspan of the arrested person for safety.
Plain View Doctrine
An exception to the warrant requirement. Police can seize evidence/illegal items in plain view if they meet the following three requirements. 1) Legally where they are when they observe the item(s). 2) Discovery must be inadvertent. 3) It must be immediately apparent to the officer that what he is seeing is illegal or evidence.
Hot Pursuit
An exception to the warrant requirement; it allows police to follow a suspect into a private building without a warrant if 1) The police officer has identified him/her self as such. 2) The officer is in actual pursuit and 3) The suspect is fleeing.
U.S. v Mongold (2013)
Court case defining the Destruction of Evidence exception.
Impounded vehicles/caretaker exception
Court has ruled that police can and should search property that lawfully comes into their custody to determine what might be in it and to determine the owner.
Stop & Frisk
Exception to search warrant requirement that allows police to stop someone if they have reasonable suspicion that someone is committing or is about to commit a crime. Officer can also frisk someone for safety reasons if reasonable.
Open Fields Doctrine
Exception to the search warrant requirement - Protections for someone's home afforded by the 4th Amendment do not apply to open fields that are far away from the home in most circumstances.
Exigent Circumstances
Exception to the warrant requirement; allows police to enter a building if an emergency exists inside. Police cannot be the party responsible for creating the exigent circumstance.
Fruit of the Poisonous Tree
Further evidence learned about or later collected as a result of an initial illegal search will also likely be inadmissible in court.
Exclusionary Rule
Governs illegally seized evidence. If evidence is found to have been seized by illegal means, it will not be admissible in court.
Chimel v California (Chimel Case) (1969)
Landmark case governing searches incident to a lawful arrest
Hester v United States (1924)
Landmark court case involving Open Fields Doctrine.
Carroll v U.S. (1925)
Landmark court case involving the automobile exception to the search warrant requirement.
Terry v Ohio (1968)
Landmark court case regarding Stop & Frisk
Destruction of Evidence
Police can enter a property for the purposes of preventing the destruction of evidence if: 1) The entry is based on probable cause. 2) The crime is 'serious' and 3) The destruction of evidence is likely.
Frisk
Quick pat down of the outside clothing of someone in an attempt to identify weapons only.
Supreme Court of the U.S.
Ultimate authority as to whether something is constitutional or not.