Search and Seizure

A lawful search can be defined as (select the best answer)

Any looking from a place an officer has a right to be

An officer stops a motorist for speeding and sees an unopened six pack of beer on the front seat partially covered by a coat. The driver is 21 years old and there is no indication he has been drinking. The officer may:

Do nothing about the beer

An officer stops a motorist for speeding and sees an open can of Budweiser beer under the seat. The officer asks the driver to hand it to him and the motorist does so. The beer can is empty and appears to have been consumed a long time ago as the can is hot, the officer may:

Do nothing about the empty beer can

The ______ _______ comes into play when a court determines that a search by police was unlawful and evidence may need to be thrown out of court

Exclusionary rule

Immediate control- means the area within "eye's reach" of the arrestee the nearby physical area from which he, in theory, could grab a weapon or destroy or conceal evidence.

False

In deciding whether or not to suppress the evidence, the court may not look at the officer's state of mind (did he act in "good faith")

False

The officer must have a specific reason or justification for initiation this type of contact w/ consensual encounters

False

When challenged the legality of a search or seizure is always decided during the trial, either as part of the post trial hearing, or at a separate pre-trial "suppression" motion, or both

False

An officer is getting out of his police car in a parking lot. He hears someone crying in a van nearby. Which of following is not true

He can break into the van if there is no response from the person inside

The primary reason why illegal obtained evidence is not admissible in court is:

It was obtained through improper search procedures on the part of the officer

Under which of the following circumstances is a suspect truly free to leave when being questioned by police?

Police make a consensual contact with a witness to a crime

Under most States Constitutions and systems of law, warrantless searches and seizures will be upheld only if the prosecutor can prove that the police conduct came with one of the few "carefully circumstance and jealously guarded" expect to the warrant requirements. Which of the following is NOT one of those expectations?

Searches conducted because the suspect has prior arrests

An officer arrests the driver of a vehicle for being under the influence of alcoholic beverages. The officer may search

The driver and a limited area of the interior of the vehicle

A "search" occurs when an expectation of privacy that society is prepare to consider reasonable is infringed upon by the police

True

A "seizure" of property occurs when there is some meaningful interference with an individual's possessory interest in that property

True

A true emergency situation or exigency will allow officers to search a person, just as it will allow them to search a house, vehicle or anything else.

True

Following a lawful arrest an officer may search any containers (open or closed) that are found on the arrestee or under his immediate control.

True

If an officer starts exerting or asserting authority over the person by giving orders, making demands, displaying a weapons, or using a harsh tone of voice the contact will be viewed as an unlawful detention unless supported by "reasonable suspicion"

True

When police officers deal with a member of the public, the law will classify it as either a "consensual encounter" a "detention" or an "arrest"

True

Which of the following statements about the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution is NOT TRUE

Warrants need not describe the place to be searched, and the person or things to be seized.

An officer stops a motorist for speeding. The motorist gets out of his car and begins yelling profanities at the officer in a threatening manner. If the officer feels threatened by the motorists conduct and he becomes worried about his own safety, the officer may:

conduct a limit pat down for weapons

In order for a vehicle search incidental to a lawful arrest to be reasonable, the search must be conducted

contemporaneously (at the same time as) with the arrest

The area that may be search incident to an arrest is limited to what is within the "immediate control" of the suspect

true