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.