unit 8: Police & Constitutional Law

reasonable suspicion

A police officer's belief, based on articulable facts, that criminal activity is taking place, so that intruding on an individual's reasonable expectation of privacy is necessary.

Arizona v. Gant (2009)

An arrest does not justify a vehicle search if the handcuffed driver has already been removed and poses no danger to officers or to the preservation of evidence.

Miranda v. Arizona(1966)

Before questioning a suspect held in custody, police officers must inform the individual of the right to remain silent and the right to have an attorney present during questioning.

In what case did the Court decide that the "plain view" doctrine permits officers to notice and use as evidence items that are visible to them when they are in a location that they are permitted to be?

Coolidge v. New Hampshire (1971)

Nix v. Williams(1984)

Decision in which the Supreme Court created the "inevitable discovery" exception to the exclusionary rule.

The Supreme Court recently repeated its endorsement of the Miranda requirement in

Dickerson v. U.S. (2000)

Mapp v. Ohio(1961)

Evidence obtained through illegal searches by state and local police must be excluded from use at trial.

totality of circumstances test

Flexible test established by the Supreme Court for identifying whether probable cause exists to justify the issuance of a warrant.

stop

Government officials' interference with an individual's freedom of movement for a duration typically lasts for a limited number of minutes and only rarely exceeds one hour.

inevitable discovery exception

Improperly obtained evidence can be used when it would later have inevitably been discovered without improper actions by the police.

stop-and-frisk search

Limited search approved by Supreme Court in Terry v. Ohio that permits officers to pat down clothing of people on the streets if there is reasonable suspicion of dangerous criminal activity.

The Supreme Court created the inevitable discovery exception to the exclusionary rule in the case of

Nix v. Williams (1980)

open fields doctrine

Officers are permitted to search and to seize evidence, without a warrant, on private property beyond the area immediately surrounding the house.

plain view doctrine

Officers may examine and use as evidence, without a warrant, contraband or evidence that is in open view at a location where they are legally permitted to be.

Illinois v. Rodriguez(1990)

Officers may rely on reasonable beliefs that a person giving consent to a search has authority to do so even if the person actually lacks authority over the apartment, house, or vehicle.

search

Officials' examination of and hunt for evidence in or on a person or place in a manner that intrudes on reasonable expectations of privacy.

Excobedo v. Illinois(1964)

Police cannot refuse access to an attorney for arrested suspects who ask to see one.

United States v. Drayton(2002)

Police officers are not required to inform people of their right to incline when police ask for consent to search.

Kentucky v. King(2011)

Police officers can use the exigent circumstances justification to conduct a warrantless search even when their own actions, such as knocking loudly on the wrong door in an apartment building, lead to the sounds inside the dwelling that trigger the belief in the necessity of an immediate search.

Florida v. J. L.(2000)

Police officers may not conduct a stop-and-frisk search based solely on an anonymous tip.

probable cause

Reliable information indicating that evidence will likely be found in a specific location or that a specific person is likely to be guilty of a crime.

seizure

Situations in which police officers use their authority to deprive people of their liberty and property.

reasonable expectation of privacy

Standard developed for determining whether a government intrusion of a person or property constitutes a search because it interferes with individual interests that are normally protected from government intrusion.

Terry v. Ohio(1968)

Supreme Court decision endorsing police officers' authority to stop and frisk suspects on the street when there is reasonable suspicion that they are armed and involved in criminal activity.

Chimel v. California(1969)

Supreme Court decision that endorsed warrantless searches for weapons and evidence in the immediate vicinity of people who are lawfully arrested.

exclusionary rule

The principle that illegally obtained evidence must be excluded from a trial.

The United States Supreme Court created the good faith exception in the case of

U.S. v. Leon (1984)

The Supreme Court created the exclusionary rule in the case of

Weeks v. U.S.(1914)

Herring v. United States(2009)

When officers act in good faith reliance on computerized records concerning outstanding warrants, evidence found in search incident to arrest is admissible even if the arrest was based on the erroneous record that wrongly indicated the existence of a warrant.

good faith exception

When police act in honest reliance on a warrant, the evidence seized is admissible even if the warrant is later proved to be defective.

public safety exception

When public safety is in jeopardy, police may question a suspect in custody without providing the Miranda warning.

exigent circumstances

When there is a threat to the public safety or the risk that evidence will be destroyed, officers may search, arrest, or question suspects without obtaining a warrant or following other usual rules of criminal procedure.

affidavit

Written statements of fact, supported by oath or affirmation, submitted to judicial officers to fulfill the requirements of probable cause for obtaining a warrant.

Which of the following senses can be used to justify a warrantless search?

all of the above (feel, hear, sight)

Which of the following are involved in the Miranda warnings?

all of the above (right to an attorney, right to remain silent, statements made can be used against a suspect)

A significant deprivation of liberty because a person is taken into police custody, transported to the police station or jail, and processed into the criminal justice system is called a(n)

arrest

Detective Smith is working on an active sexual assault case. She has just recently received DNA results back from the lab. The results specifically pinpoint the person of interest as the suspect. Detective Smith has obtained an arrest warrant and is hoping that the suspect will give a full confession. Officer Smith is going to take the suspect into custody, where he feels as though he is not free to leave. Officer Smith is making an _______.

arrest

In a pat-down by an officer, items that are identifiable by touch cannot be seized as evidence.

false

Miranda warnings must be issued in written form and signed or initialed by the suspect.

false

Police cannot rely on smell as a sense in conducting a warrantless search.

false

Police officers can conduct a warrant search without probable cause.

false

Police officers must provide Miranda warnings if they approach someone on the street and begin questioning.

false

Police officers need to obtain a warrant before searching the trunk of a car.

false

Police rarely use deception when interrogating a suspect.

false

When officers are in hot pursuit of a fleeing suspected felon, they need to stop to seek a warrant and thereby risk permitting the suspect to get away.

false

According to the ___________, officers are permitted to search and to seize evidence, without a warrant, on private property beyond the area immediately surrounding the house.

open field doctrine

Which of the following is FALSE concerning search warrants?

police officers do need a search warrant, even if a person waives his/her Fourth Amendment rights

Officer Castro notices a car in front of him driving at a slow rate of speed. The driver seems to be driving erratically. Officeer Castro activates his blue lights and attempts to pull the car over. The driver continues to drive for approximately two additional miles before pulling over. When Officer Castro slowly approaches the car, he smells what appears to be a heavy fragrance of what seems to be marijuana. The driver has dilated eyes and slurred speech. There are a total of four individuals in the car. When Officer Castro pulled the car over after suspicious behavior, he encountered a strong smell of a well known drug that he has significant experience with prior to this case. The strong presence of this drug, gives Officer Castro enough ________ to search the vehicle.

probable cause

Which of the following is NOT contained in the Fourth Amendment?

right to bear arms

Which of the following is contained in the Fifth Amendment?

right to remain silent

Officer Goldman responded to a call of an active shooter during a home invasion at a local residence. Officer Goldman arrives on scene and quickly surveys the residence. He and his partner immediately enter the home and see the suspect. They command the suspect to drop his weapon at which time, the suspect responds. Officer Goldman arrests the suspect and searches his person. Once the suspect is taken into custody, Officer Goldman immediately searches the suspect. He is allowed to do this without a warrant. This is called __________.

search incident to a lawful arrest

Detective Smith is working on an active sexual assault case. She has just recently received DNA results back from the lab. The results specifically pinpoint the person of interest as the suspect. Detective Smith has obtained an arrest warrant and is hoping that the suspect will give a full confession. The suspect can claim his Constitutional right against ____________, when Detective Smith interrogates the suspect.

self-incrimination

A brief interference with a person's freedom of movement with a duration that can be measured in minutes is called a(n)

stop

Officer Castro notices a car in front of him driving at a slow rate of speed. The driver seems to be driving erratically. Officeer Castro activates his blue lights and attempts to pull the car over. The driver continues to drive for approximately two additional miles before pulling over. When Officer Castro slowly approaches the car, he smells what appears to be a heavy fragrance of what seems to be marijuana. The driver has dilated eyes and slurred speech. There are a total of four individuals in the car. Officer Castro intended for this traffic stop to be a brief seizure, which would be considered a ___________.

stop

In the 1980s, which of the following statements is true concerning the United States Supreme Court's treatment of the exclusionary rule?

the Court created exceptions to limit the applicability of the rule

In Nix v. Williams (1984), the Supreme Court agreed that the improperly obtained evidence can be used when it would later have been inevitably discovered without improper actions by the police.

true

Miranda warnings have had serious implications for law enforcement and the techniques used for interrogation.

true

Miranda warnings must be read to a suspect when he/she is taken into custody.

true

The Fourth Amendment requires that probable cause be established before a warrant is provided.

true

The Supreme Court ruled in Chimel v. California (1969) that in order to preserve evidence and protect the safety of the officer and the public after a lawful arrest, the arrestee and the immediate area around the arrestee may be searched for weapons and criminal evidence.

true

The Warren Court established that the exclusionary rule applied to the states.

true

The exclusionary rule does not necessarily require that cases against defendants be dismissed when constitutional rights have been violated.

true

The exclusionary rule increases the legal protection for criminal defendants.

true

The totality of circumstances test is used to determine if sufficient evidence exists for a search warrant.

true

Which of the following is contained in the Fourth Amendment?

warrant clause