Search & Seizure Study Guide

What CASE LAW covers Plain View & Open Fields?

Coolidge v. New Hampshire (1971)

Evidence discovered as a later result of an illegal search may also be inadmissible as "_____________", unless it inevitably would have been discovered by legal means.

Fruits of the Poisonous Tree

What CASE LAW says that "All interrogations must be tape recorded"?

Harris v. State of AK

Emergencies that Police do not need a Warrant to enter a location:

Homicides Assaults Medical Emergencies

_______ that an item is connected with criminal activity is not enough to trigger the plain view exception.

Mere SUSPICION

Once items have been seized Incident to Arrest and there has been a significant passage of time, can police justify further searches Incident to Arrest?

NO

Is Police DECEPTION coercive in nature and enough to invalidate a consent search?

NO! DECEPTION is NOT coercive and is not enough to invalidate a consent search.

Is checking a VIN on a car through the glass considered a search?

NO. It is not a search

What CASE LAW allows public school officials to search without a warrant, as long as they have reasonable grounds to believe that the search will result in the finding of evidence of illegal activity.

New Jersey v. T.L.O. (1985)

Is it a requirement that the subject be informed of their right to refuse a search?

No

Reasonable Person Standard

Not an average or typical person, but a composite of a relevant community's judgment as to how a typical member of said community should behave in situations that might pose a threat of harm (through action or inaction) to the public. Judged under the same set of circumstances or similar circumstances.

What must an Affidavit have for a warrant to be granted?

Probable Cause

If the time and place has not been specifically limited, the search must be "______".

REASONABLE

(Exigent Circumstances) HOT PURSUIT

Refers to the urgent and direct pursuit of a criminal suspect by officers.

HOT PURSUIT is also known as??

"Fresh" or "Immediate Pursuit"

What factors allow an officer to search preceding to an Incident to Arrest?

1) As long as it is within a reasonable time, and 2) the Officer already has Probable Cause to make an arrest at the time of the search.

Consent factors

1) Ask for Consent! 2) Consent cannot be under duress 3) Consent can be Revoked at any time

The FIVE 4th Amendment Exemptions

1) Consent 2) Plain View & Open Fields 3) Exigent Circumstances 4) Motor Vehicle (not in Alaska 5) Incident to Arrest

5 Factors that affect voluntary Consent

1) Custodial Status 2) Display of Force 3) Subject's intelligence & education 4) Mental Culpability (e.g. mental illness) 5) Age and experience

What 2 questions are asked after the Miranda Rights?

1) Do you understand each of these rights I have explained to you? 2) Having these rights in mind, do you wish to talk to us now?

What 6 things may not be PC alone but can add to the totality of Probable Cause?

1) Flight 2) Furtive Conduct 3) Physical Evidence (footprints, injuries etc.) 4) Presence at a crime scene or high crime area 5) Association with known criminals 6) Criminal History

What 4 Exemptions apply to Vehicles

1) Plain view 2) Consent 3) Incident to Arrest 4) inventory

3 Methods for establishing PC

1) Through Officer's own observations and perceptions 2) Informant observations and perceptions 3) Admissions and statements from suspects and witnesses

What 2 statements are added to the Juvenile Miranda Waiver?

1) You have the right to have your parents notified of your arrest before you talk to me 2) You have the right to have your parents present while you talk to me

What time during the day can Officers apply for search warrants in Anchorage?

24 hours a day

Probable cause comes from which Amendment?

4th Amendment

Seizure - Property

A "seizure" of property occurs when there is some meaningful interference with an individual's possessory interests in that property. There has to be an intentional acquisition of control by the government over any item that an individual has a possessory interest in.

What is Probable Cause considered in order to search and/or seize property or people?

A Level of "PROOF"

What type of search are officers allowed to do when making an arrest inside a premise?

A Protective Sweep, to protect their own safety and the safety of others.

Exigent Circumstances

A Warrantless search conducted by a police officer who has probable cause and reasonably that, because of a need to protect life and property, there is not enough time to obtain a warrant

What is a Consent search?

A search conducted after a person, with the authority to do so, voluntarily waives their 4th Amendment Rights

What is the time zone for a search incident to arrest?

A search must be completed AS CLOSE to the TIME OF ARREST as possible.

Seizure - Person

A seizure of the person occurs when an officer takes possession of a person, or meaningfully restricts a person's freedom of movement, no matter how brief it may be

Inventory Searches of Vehicles

APD Officers may conduct inventory searches of property they have seized to protect against later claims of damage, or theft, and to identify potentially harmful materials.

Incident to Arrest

Allows police to perform a Warrantless search of an arrested person, and the area within the arrestee's immediate control, in the interest of officer safety, the prevention of escape and the destruction of evidence.

Search

Any conduct by government agents or officials that intrudes upon person's expectations of privacy

Reasonable Suspicion

Based on specific and articulable facts, an officer believes in good faith, that a person has committed, is committing, or is about to commit a crime.

What CASE LAW says that "Assertions must be clear and unequivocal, silence is not an assertion of their rights"?

Berghuis v. Thompkins, 2010

Courts have treated _____ as an extension of the home.

CURTILAGE

After conducting a Warrantless Search what should you do?

Document the circumstances clearly!

The _________ of a vehicle that is parked in a public place has no societal expectation of privacy.

Exterior

True or False. Consent may be given through silence.

FALSE! Consent must be unequivocal and intelligently given!

True or False. Bringing a drug dog to the front door in order to try and detect drugs without a warrant or consent is accepted.

FALSE! It is a VIOLATION of the 4th Amendment

True or False. Magistrates and Judges must be "biased" and act with subjectivity when granting warrants.

FALSE! They must be "neutral and detached" and act with objectivity.

True or False. Officers may use a reasonable amount of force at any time to make a subject submit to a search.

FALSE!! Only when conducting a search Incident to Arrest!

What things may an Officer use to enhance their natural senses to see things in plain view?

Flashlights or Binoculars

Remember to do good "________" searches in order to avoid Zehrung problems at the jail

Incident to Arrest

What 3 things should Officers account for when a person waives their Rights?

Intoxication Mental Illness Youth

After being read their rights, they must _______ and ________ waive their rights.

KNOWINGLY INTELLIGENTLY

The person providing consent may limit the ____ and ____ of the search

TIME PLACE

Curtilage

Outdoor area immediately surrounding a house or dwelling.

An Officer can seize objects in "plain view", but must have ___________ to believe the objects are contraband.

PROBABLE CAUSE

What MUST officers HAVE in order for them to seize objects in "plain view"?

PROBABLE CAUSE to believe the objects are contraband!

Open Fields

Pastures, open water, woods, etc. that may be searched without a warrant on the grounds that conduct occurring therein would have no reasonable expectation of privacy.

(Exigent Circumstances) EMERGENCY

Police do not need a warrant to enter locations where an emergency is occurring

Probable Cause

Reliable information in sufficient quantity and detail as to lead a reasonable person to believe that a crime has been committed and the person arrested committed that crime.

What are the 2 exemptions to the Miranda Rights?

Roadside Questioning and Public Safety

What CASE LAW addresses the role of police as caretakers of property and allows for INVENTORY SEARCHES OF VEHICLES and does not consider them "unreasonable"?

South Dakota v. Opperman (1976)

Plain View applies to all human senses. True or False.

TRUE

True or False. An Officer must be lawfully present for a Plain View & Open Field Search.

TRUE

True or False. An incident to arrest search is only valid if the arrest is lawful.

TRUE

True or False. Consent may be revoked at any time, even after the search has been initiated.

TRUE

True or False. Consent to enter a home does not give officers the right to search the home on the basis of consent.

TRUE

True or False. Criminal history cannot be used at trial in most cases.

TRUE

True or False. Curtilage is protected by the 4th Amendment.

TRUE

True or False. DOC's procedure is to search all arrestee's immediately.

TRUE

True or False. Evidence obtained through the 4th Amendment violations is generally inadmissible at criminal trials.

TRUE

True or False. Having joint access to the area to be searched is deemed as having common authority to consent.

TRUE

True or False. If an arrest is made from a vehicle, the lunge, reach, grab areas are subject to search, INCLUDING closed containers/glove box if searched immediately.

TRUE

True or False. Officers conducting a legal pat down may seize contraband that the officer can immediately and clearly identify, by touch, but not manipulation.

TRUE

True or False. Officers may NOT complete a search for evidence without consent, a warrant, or another exception if they have entered a place due to an Emergency.

TRUE

True or False. Police can accept "good faith" waivers of an "apparent authority".

TRUE

True or False. Probable Cause can be passed from one Officer to another.

TRUE

True or False. Risk of destruction of evidence is considered an Exigent Circumstance for a Warrantless search.

TRUE

True or False. Seizure of flecks of paint, bits of fiber, and other material like mud from the outside of the vehicle is a legal seizure.

TRUE

True or False. The 4th Amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures.

TRUE

True or False. The vehicle exemption to the 4th Amendment does not apply in Alaska.

TRUE

True or False. You must audio record Consent Waivers.

TRUE

What CASE LAW established "terry frisk"?

Terry v. Ohio (1968)

What is the area within the arrestee's immediate control called?

The "Lunge, Reach, Grab Zone"

Which Amendment requires a warrant be judicially sanctioned and supported by probable cause?

The 4th Amendment

Generally, what does the scope of the search (to Incident to arrest) include?

The Arrestee's BODY and the IMMEDIATE AREA within which the arrestee might reasonably gain possession of a weapon, means of escape, or destructible evidence.

Affiant

The Officer making the application for the warrant

Flight

The Supreme Court has explained that flight can indicate a "knowing" mental state

Seizure

The act or an instance of taking possession (person or property) by legal right or process.

Affidavit

The written or sworn testimony of the facts by the officer applying for a warrant

What CASE LAW established "hot pursuit" as an exception to a warrant requirement?

Warden v. Hayden (1967)

Officers in Alaska need to get a ______ to search a vehicle.

Warrant

The 4th Amendment Exclusionary Rule was established by what CASE LAW?

Weeks v. US (1914)

What is RULE #1 for a Search Warrant?

When in doubt: Apply for a search warrant

Is it best to have the subject giving consent present in the area or with police while the search is being conducted?

YES

Can an officer search other people within the arrestee's vicinity?

YES. Other persons in the arrestee's IMMEDIATE VICINITY may be "FRISKED" WHEN the officer REASONABLY BELIEVES they present a DANGER or may DESTROY EVIDENCE.

Are closed containers subject to a search Incident to Arrest?

Yes IF they are searched Immediately! But are not subject to a search later under this exemption.

According to what Case Law is an arrestee to be given a "reasonable opportunity to post bail before being booked and searched".

Zehrung v. State (1978)

Once an arrestee is being booked into jail, what CASE LAW tells us that they should be given a "reasonable opportunity to post bail before being booked and searched"?

Zehrung v. State (1978)

In order for Miranda to apply the suspect must be:

•Under arrest OR in-custody •Freedom derived in significant way •Told they were under arrest •Believes they are under arrest due to conditions AND •Subject to interrogation