Chapter 3
Campus police are investigating a robbery. Julian approaches the police and tells them that he saw his roommate steal a cell phone from the dorm room next door. This type of information would be considered ________.
articulable facts > Articulable facts are events that are witnessed and can be documented.
The police must have _______ before they can conduct a search or seizure.
justification > Justification is necessary for the police to engage in actions that trigger the Fourth Amendment. Examples of justification include probable cause and reasonable suspicion.
A search occurs when government actors engage in activity that infringes on one's ________.
reasonable expectation of privacy > Coupled with government action, the Fourth Amendment is triggered only when the law enforcement activity in question infringes on a person's reasonable expectation of privacy.
Government action must be in place for a Fourth Amendment _______ to occur.
search -> Government action is a precursor to a search.
Which of the following statements is true regarding the seizure of a person?
A person is seized if he or she is pulled over by the police while driving. > The seizure of a person can take place in a number of ways, including if a person is pulled over by the police while driving.
With reference to the reasonableness clause and the warrant clause, which of the following is the rule of thumb that has been established by the Supreme Court?
A search warrant should be procured whenever practical. -> The general rule of thumb is that a search warrant (or an arrest warrant, in the case of a seizure of a person) should be procured whenever practical. If, however, there is an emergency or other such exception, such as a significant risk to public safety, a warrant may not be necessary.
In order for an activity to be considered a search, which of the following must occur?
A violation ofone's reasonable expectation of privacy -> Government action is the other requirement.
The owners of The Greasy Spoon argued that their privacy rights were violated by the health inspector's appearance at their restaurant, but their protests were rejected based on which justification?
Administrative justification -> Administrative justification is a standard used to support certain regulatory and special needs searches.
Which area would be considered curtilage?
An area that is contained by a fence > Curtilage would be an area close to a house or residence, contained by a fence, being put to use by the homeowner such as a play area, and protected from observation.
Which of the following would be considered the seizure of a person?
An officer blocks a person from leaving. > The seizure of a person occurs when a police officer, by means of physical force or show of authority, intentionally restrains an individual's liberty in such a manner that a reasonable person would believe that he or she is not free to leave.
_________ are events that are witnessed and can be explained.
Articulable facts > Articulable facts are events that are witnessed and can be explained; they are necessary for establishing probable cause.
Probable cause was defined by the U.S. Supreme Court in ________ as existing when "the facts and circumstances within the officersʹ knowledge and of which they have reasonably trustworthy information [are] sufficient to warrant a prudent man in believing that the suspect had committed or was committing an offense."
Beck v. Ohio > In Beck v. Ohio (1964), the Supreme Court defined probable cause as "the facts and circumstances within the officersʹ knowledge and of which they have reasonably trustworthy information [are] sufficient to warrant a prudent man in believing that the suspect had committed or was committing an offense."
Officer Day arrests a woman after searching her enclosed and fenced in yard without a warrant and finding evidence pointing to her involvement in a theft ring. The judge rules the evidence inadmissible because he considered the area in which Officer Day found the evidence to be ________.
Curtilage -> The term curtilage refers to the area to which extends the intimate activity associated with the sanctity of a man's home and the privacies of life.
To define when a search takes place, which two important factors need to be considered?
Government action and reasonable expectation of privacy > A search is an activity geared toward finding evidence to be used in a criminal prosecution.
The police are called to a fight at a bar. When the police arrive, they arrest one man for public intoxication and assault. The police would be able to search all of the following except the assailant's ______.
Home -> House is a term that is broadly construed to mean any structure that a person uses as a residence (and frequently a business) on either a temporary or long-term basis. There would be no reason for the police to search the man's home.
Which of the following statements is true of the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable searches and seizures?
It is inapplicable when search and seizures are conducted by private individuals. > When a private individual seizes evidence or otherwise conducts a search, the protections of the Fourth Amendment are not triggered.
While working a traffic control stop, Officer Graham smells what he suspects to be alcohol on the breath of a motorist. At what point would a seizure of this person occur?
Once the motorist failed a field sobriety test. -> The officer has probable cause to arrest the motorist.
A/An ________ is any unoccupied or undeveloped real property falling outside the curtilage of a home.
Open field > An open field is an unoccupied or undeveloped real property falling outside the curtilage of a home. It does not trigger the protection of the Fourth Amendment because it is not a house.
In Fourth Amendment terms, nearly all personal items, including business records, letters, diaries, memos, and other forms of tangible documentary evidence can be defined as _____________.
Papers -> In Fourth Amendment terms, nearly all personal items, including business records, letters, diaries, memos, and countless other forms of tangible evidence can be defined as papers.
________ is sufficient for police officers to engage in stop-and-frisk activities.
Reasonable suspicion -> Reasonable suspicion is necessary for police to engage in stop-and-frisk activities. It is the justification that falls below probable cause but above a hunch. Reasonable suspicion is a Court-created justification; it is not mentioned in the Fourth Amendment.
Which of the following best describes reasonable suspicion?
Reasonable suspicion is something below probable cause but above a hunch. > Reasonable suspicion is Court-created justification, not mentioned in the Fourth Amendment, and is required for police to engage in stop-and-frisk activities.
What test do the courts use to determine if evidence from a search and seizure is admissible in court?
Reasonableness -> The second stage in the Fourth Amendment analysis requires focusing on the reasonableness of the search or seizure. In other words, once the protections of the Fourth Amendment were triggered, did the police act in line with Fourth Amendment requirements?
________ is the term that refers to the activity of finding evidence to be used in a criminal prosecution.
Search -> A search is, as the term suggests, an activity geared toward finding evidence to be used in a criminal prosecution.
Which of the following scenarios is NOT a violation of the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable searches and seizures?
Searching the car that a murder suspect is sleeping in when he or she is arrested by police -> An officer may search the car in which a murder suspect is found when he or she is arrested.
Sam was pulled over by a police officer while he was driving. The officer asked him to step out of the car and then asked him to search his vehicle. Sam willfully consented to the search and the officer found two small baggies of marijuana in the car. The officer took the marijuana, wrote Sam a ticket, and let him go on his way. The officer's actions will be considered a(n)________.
Seizure of property -> A seizure of property occurs when there is some meaningful interference with an individual's possessory interest in that property.
Which of the following factors is NOT taken into account by the courts when distinguishing between curtilage and an "open field"?
The number of people living in the vicinity. > The steps taken by the resident to protect the area from observation, the nature of the use to which the land/property is being put, the proximity of the area to the house, and whether the area is included within a fence or another enclosure surrounding the home are some of the factors that are used to determine if an area is considered an open field or curtilage.
The Fourth Amendment contains which two basic clauses?
The reasonableness and warrant clauses -> The Fourth Amendment contains two basic clauses: the reasonableness clause, which proscribes unreasonable searches and seizures, is followed by the warrant clause, which says that "no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
The courts consider which of the following factors when distinguishing between open fields and curtilage?
The use to which the land/property is being put > Curtilage is the area to which extends the intimate activity associated with the sanctity of a man's home and the privacies of life. This definition should be contrasted with the definition of an open field, which is any unoccupied or undeveloped real property falling outside the curtilage of a home.