crj proceed chapter 3

When the police obtain a handwriting or voice sample from a criminal suspect, this action constitutes a seizure, thereby implicating the Fourth Amendment.

False

A citizen contacts the local police department and alleges that a particular person is dealing drugs out of his home. The citizen states that (s)he thought the police should know, but that (s)he does not "want to get involved by giving my name." What information would the officer need to state in the affidavit to satisfy the first prong of Aguilar-Spinelli (basis of knowledge)?

How, when, and where the informant obtained the information.

Which of the following is a true statement about the concept of reasonableness, as it applies to Fourth Amendment inquiries?

Reasonableness is determined on a case-by-case basis, not through application of a precise test.

The leading case on corroboration of information provided by an informant is:

Spinelli v. United States (1969)

Which of the following is not reflective of the reasons why the U.S. Supreme Court put into effect the totality of the circumstances test for assessing informant information based on the Illinois v. Gates (1983) decision?

The Court wanted to establish a clear test that could be applied in all cases using essentially the same decision factors across all cases.

A patrol officer stops a car and makes an arrest on the basis of information obtained from a bulletin that officers in another jurisdiction are looking for the driver of a certain car that was described in the bulletin. Assume that the information contained in the bulletin was not correct. Which of the following is a true statement?

The arresting officer is shielded from any civil liability for false arrest.

Which of the following statements is true about the concept of probable cause?

The concept deals with probability that evidence will be found or that the individual committed an offense.

Which of the following is the best characterization of the U.S. Supreme Court's current view toward the Aguilar-Spinelli two-prong criteria?

The criteria are a good reference point for analyzing probable cause based on informant information, but the applicability to all cases is limited.

The cases of Aguilar v. Texas (1964) and Spinelli v. United States (1969) established a process for evaluating probable cause based on informant information. Which of the following is not part of the criteria for the established process?

The information must be judged based on the totality of the circumstances.

An officer receives an announcement from dispatch that another jurisdiction is looking for a blue Ford Mustang with Louisiana license plates with a large dent in the passenger side door. The officer spots a car fitting this description. Which of the following is a true statement?

The officer has justification to stop the car and investigate because probable cause is based on the collective knowledge of the police.

A "search" occurs when an expectation of privacy that society is prepared to recognize is infringed.

True

The U.S. Supreme Court has a strong preference that arrests and searches be authorized by a warrant.

True

Warrantless police actions are presumed to be unreasonable unless based on probable cause.

True

Which of the following, standing alone, can serve as the basis for probable cause?

an admission

The U.S. Supreme Court has defined the term "search" to occur when:

an individual has a subjective expectation of privacy that society is prepared to consider reasonable and the privacy expectation is infringed.

The term________ means strengthening or confirming the information supplied by the informant with supporting information obtained by law enforcement officers.

corroboration

The police suspect that a store is illegally selling illicit drug paraphernalia. A plain clothes detective working undercover enters the store, purchases items, leaves the store, and comes back with a search warrant for the store and an arrest warrant for the store's owner. In terms of the Fourth Amendment, the initial possession of the goods by the police:

did not constitute a search or a seizure.

The change from viewing the Fourth Amendment as law that protected property to a view that the law protected persons was prompted by cases that concerned:

electronic surveillance.

A police officer is considered an expert in the area of gangs and gang behavior. The courts are not permitted to give extra credence to the judgments of the expert when (s)he applies for a search or arrest warrant in a case involving gang behavior.

false

Ordinary citizen informants, even when the tip is given anonymously, are always presumed credible (trustworthy) and no further evidence of credibility need be stated in the affidavit beyond their name and address and their status as a victim of, or witness to, a crime.

false

Other Fourth Amendment considerations, such as warrants, reasonableness, exigency, and good faith, are factors that are considered subservient to probable cause.

false

The decision in Illinois v. Gates (1983) completely overruled the Aguilar-Spinelli criteria for establishing probable cause based on informant information. The Aguilar-Spinelli criteria did not retain their vitality in analyzing the presence of probable cause in cases of informant information.

false

When information is used from a criminal informant, the name of the informant:

need not be disclosed if his or her credibility is otherwise satisfactorily established.

Which of the following, standing alone, can serve as the basis for probable cause?

observation and evaluation of real or physical evidence

The preference that a search and/or seizure be authorized by a warrant is based on all of the following except:

police are not qualified to make probable cause determinations.

The fundamental concept(s) for understanding the application of Fourth Amendment is/are:

privacy, reasonableness, and probable cause

A law enforcement officer's perceptions that a crime is being committed in his or her presence clearly provide_______ to arrest the person committing the crime.

probable cause

Which of the following concepts is so important that it has been referred to as the "touchstone" of the Fourth Amendment?

reasonableness

Based on the Aguilar-Spinelli criteria, in order to establish probable cause in a situation where informant information is secondhand, the affidavit must:

show how the third person knows the information furnished to the informant and why the information, from both the informant and the 3rd party, is credible or reliable.

Following the decision in Illinois v. Gates (1983):

some states rejected the Gates decision and retained the Aguilar-Spinelli criteria on the basis of their own state constitutions.

The Katz v. United States (1967) case is known for establishing that:

the Fourth Amendment protects people, not places.

Which of the following is the most effective way to assess reliability of a criminal informant's information?

the accuracy of the past information provided by the informant

The method of establishing probable cause through the use of an informant's information is sometimes referred to as:

the hearsay method.

A criminal informant's credibility (veracity/truthfulness) must always be established by a statement of underlying facts and circumstances.

true

Assuming that no exception to the warrant requirement is relevant, weaker evidence is more likely to justify the issuance of a warrant than it is to justify a warrantless search or arrest.

true

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals established a totality of the circumstances test that has been endorsed and applied by other courts in cases that followed. The test is applied to assess probable cause based on informant information. Which of the following is not among the factors considered in the test?

whether the informant information is firsthand or secondhand

Some courts require additional information to establish the veracity/truthfulness of an ordinary citizen informant if the citizen merely provides an anonymous tip. Which of the following is a primary factor mentioned in the text (State v. White, Ga. App. 1990) that is used by Georgia courts to assess the veracity/truthfulness of an anonymous tip?

whether the information is from a "concerned citizen"

After it has been determined that a person has standing to make a Fourth Amendment claim and that a "search" or "seizure" has occurred, the final inquiry is to find:

whether the search or seizure was reasonable

The common law approach to applying the Fourth Amendment to particular cases was to focus on:

whether there was a physical intrusion into a constitutionally protected area.