Exam 4 Review

Even if there is no probable cause or reasonable suspicion, the officer may search the car if valid consent is given.

to stop a vehicle-do not need probable cause but need reasonable suspicion or articulable suspcion of suspect's involvement in criminal activity -to search a vehicle you need probable cause -Inventory of a vehicle-Does not need probable cause but must be guided by department policy

Curtilage is

"the area to which extends the intimate activity associated with the sanctity of a man's home , and the privacies of life. In general, "curtilage has been held to include all buildings in close proximity to a dwelling, which are continually used for carrying on domest emloyement;or such place as is necessary and convenient to a dwelling and is habitually used for family purposes. Officers need a warrant and probable cause to seize items in the curtilage.

Two requirements for warrantless vehicle searches

(1) Probable cause must be present (2) the vehicle must be mobile,meaning capable of being driven away at any time.

Abandonment is frequently difficult to determine,but the two basic guidelines are

(1) where the property is left and (2) the intent to abandon the property

Two factors in determining abandonment

(Property left in an open field or public place is abandoned(2) for property left on private premises,it depends on whether the occupant has left the premises, and (3)for trash or garbage it depends on where it is left(4) intent to abandon is determined by what a person does

Situations in which the plain view doctrine applies:

- Making an arrest with or without a warrant -In hot pursuit of a fleeing suspect -Making a search incident to a valid arrest -out on patrol -Making a car inventory search -Conducting an investigation in a residence -Making an entry into a home after obtaining valid consent

Three basic requirements of the plain view doctrine must be met for the evidence to be seized legally by the police.

-The officer must have gained awareness of the item solely by sighting it. -the officer must be in that physical position legally. -It must be immediately apparent that it is seizable item.

Abandonment of motor vehicles is determined by four key factors:

-flight from the vehicle -where and for how long a vehicle is unattended - the condition in which the vehicle is left unattended -denial of possession of ownership of the vehicle(

vehicle stops

-no need for warrant

What may officers do after a valid traffic stop

-order the driver and passgengers to get out of the vehicle

How is curtilage determined? The court ruled in U.S. v Dunn ,that determining whether an area is considered a part of the curtilage and therefore covered by the Fourth Amendment protections tests on four factors:

1. The proximity of the area to the home 2. Whether the area is in an enclosure surrounding the home 3. The nature and uses of the area 4. The steps taken to conceal the area from public view.

Abandoment and plain view compared

Abandonment -Owner or possesser has given up possession of item - seized item may be illegal or legal -Discovery of item may be through the sense of sight, touch,hearing, smell, or taste Plain View -Owner or possesser has no given up possession of the item -Seized items must be illegal -Discovery of item must be through the sense of sight.

Abandonment

Abandonment is defined as the giving up of a thing or item absolutely,without limitation as to any particular person or purpose. Abandonment implies giving up possession, ownership, or any reasonable expectation of privacy. Items that are abandoned are not protected by the Fourth Amendment. Abandoned property is not protected by the Fourth amendment guarantee against unreasonable searches and seizures,so it may be seized without a warrant or probable cause. Abandoned property does not belong to anyone, because the owner has given it up-in some cases involuntarily(such as when items are thrown out of a house or a car for fear of discovery by the police). Persons who find such property, including the police, may therefore keep it and introduce it as evidence in a criminal proceeding. The police activities that led to the abandonment must be legal, or else the evidence obtained is not admissible in court.

justification for vehicle stops

Althought a vehicle stop is a form of seizure, the motorist is not fully protected by the Fourth Amendment. Because the vehicle stop is less intrusive, neither a warrant nor probable cause is required. Nonetheless,some type of justification is necessary for a valid stop;a stop by a police officer for no reason or without any justification is ilegal. There must be at least reasonable suspicion with possible involvement in criminal activity.

Open fields docrine

Ends where the curtilage begins; criminal activity conducted in an open field that is not part of the curtilage is not protected by the 4th amendment

- Immigration and border searches

Full Fourth Amendment protections do not apply at immigration borders,particularly right at the point of entry. Searches may be conducted by immigration and border agents in the absence of probable cause,reasonable suspicion, or suspicion. No amount of certainty is needed in border searches-whether the person is a citizen or noncitizen.

inventory searches

In which the police list the personal effects and properties they find in the vehicle, without a warrant immediately after an arrest.

U.S. v Arvizu

The Court hel d that a reasonable determination in auto mobile stop cases is based on the totality of the circumstances rather than each act viewed separately. This case is significant in vehicle stops cases for several reasons:1 in determining reasonable suspicion,officers can rely on a number of factors that individually may not constitute reasonable suspcion and 2 in determining reasonable suspicion, officers may draw on their own experiences and specialized training to make infereferences from and deductions about the cumulative information availible.

Florida v Riley

The Court held that Riley had no reasonable expectation of privacy in this case because anyone could view Riley's property from a helicopter flying in navigable airspace and figure out what was inside. The police officer did not enter Riley's land or interfere with it in any way. Furthermore, the manner in which he was flying the helicopter was well within the law; therefore, the police officer was within his rights to view Riley's property from the air. The Court determined that the police action in this case did not violate Riley's Fourth Amendment rights.

The plain view doctrine is only one of many possible legal justifications for admitting evidence obtained by the police in court. It is used as a legal justification for seizure only if all three requirements are met.

The absence of one of these elements means that the evidence is not admissible under plain view,but it may still be admissible under another legal doctrine.

Searches of containers within a vehicle

The court held in Cali v Acevedo , that the police may search a container located in a car w/o a search warrant even though they lack probable cause to search the car as a whole and have probable cause to believe only that the container itself contains contraband or evidence.

Kyllo v U.S

The court held that using a technological device to explore the details of a home that would previously have been unknowingly without physical intrusion is a search and is preemptively unreasonable without a warrant. thermal imaging

Pretextual stop

a stop used as a pretext to search a vehicle-in this case, to determine whether the occupant had drugs.

Roadblocks

are an exception to the rule that vehicle stops must be justified by suspicion of the occupants involvement in criminal activity. Roadblocks to control drunk driving (constitutional) Roadblocks to control the flow of illegal aliens(constitutional) Roadblocks to check for a driver's license and vehicle registration (constitutional) Roadblocks to obtain specific information from motorists (constitutional) Roadblocks for general law enforcement purposes(unconstitutional)

Open fields begins where ______ends.

curtilage

Abandonment and plain view are similar

in that neither is protected by the Fourth Amendment;there is no need for a search warrant or probable cause to obtain the items.

open fields

open fields do not come under the 4th amendment. Open fields begin where curtilage ends.

Plain view doctrine.

states that items that are within the sigh of an office who is legally in the place from which the view is made may properly be seized without a warrant-as long as such items are immediately recognizable as subject to seizure.

Warrantless search of vehicles

Must be based on probable cause that seizable items are contained in the vehicle . The absence of probable cause makes the search invalid;reasonable suspicion (Such as that required in stops)is not enough. Probable suspicion should focus on whether the item to be searched for is subject to seizure and whether it may be found in the place where the search is being conducted.

New york vs. Belton

Once a driver has been arrested, the police may conduct a warrant less search of the passenger compartment of the automobile. The police may examine the contents of any container found within the passenger compartment as long as they may reasonably believe it might contain something that could pose a danger to the officer or hold evidence of the offense for which the suspect has been arrested. pg 256

PLain touch, plain odor, plain view-

Plain odor doctrine- If an officer smells something that is immediately recognizable as seizable , that object can be seized as long as that knowledge amounts to probable cause. Plain touch-this doctrine holds that if an officer touches or feels something that is immediately identifiable as seizable, the object can be seized as long as such knowledge amounts to probable cause