Fourth Amendment and Searches

These flashcards cover key terms, definitions, and concepts related to Fourth Amendment rights, searches, and legal standards surrounding law enforcement actions.

Reasonable Expectation of Privacy (REP)

The belief that a person has a right to privacy in a given space or situation.

Private Search

A search conducted by a private individual rather than a government actor, which may not invoke 4^{th} Amendment protections.

Terry Stop

A brief detention by law enforcement for investigative purposes based on reasonable suspicion.

Exigent Circumstances

Situations that justify a warrantless search due to the immediate need to protect life or prevent the destruction of evidence.

Plain View Doctrine

Allows police to seize evidence without a warrant if it is in plain sight and they are lawfully present at the location.

Protective Sweep

A quick search of premises to protect law enforcement agents or others during an arrest.

Warrant Requirement

The legal necessity for law enforcement to obtain a warrant, backed by probable cause, before conducting a search.

Abandonment of Property

The relinquishment of a reasonable expectation of privacy in an object, usually by discarding or denying ownership.

Aguilar-Spinelli Test

A two-prong test used to assess the credibility of an informant's tip in establishing probable cause.

Vicarious Standing

A legal concept allowing a person to challenge the legality of a search if they have a reasonable expectation of privacy, even if they do not own the property.

Consent Searches

Searches conducted with the explicit permission of the property owner or person in control of the premises.

Mobile Conveyance

Vehicles that are considered to have a diminished expectation of privacy due to their inherent mobility.

Inevitable Discovery Rule

Allows for the admission of evidence obtained illegally if it can be shown that it would have been discovered legally anyway.

Search Incident to Arrest (SIA)

A search conducted on a person or property at the time of arrest, aimed at discovering weapons or preventing the destruction of evidence.

Knock and Announce Rule

Requirement that law enforcement officers announce their presence and purpose before forcibly entering a dwelling.

Curtilage

The area surrounding a dwelling that is deemeed private under the 4^{th} Amendment.

Public Areas

Spaces where individuals have little to no reasonable expectation of privacy, allowing for observation and search without a warrant.

4^{th} Amendment

Protects against unreasonable searches and seizures by the government.

Exclusionary Rule

A judicial rule that prohibits the use of evidence obtained in violation of the 4^{th} Amendment in a criminal trial.

Probable Cause

A requirement found in the 4^{th} Amendment that must usually be met before police make an arrest, conduct a search, or receive a warrant.

Fruit of the Poisonous Tree

A legal metaphor used to describe evidence that is obtained illegally; if the source of the evidence is tainted, then anything gained from it is also tainted.

Reasonable Suspicion

A legal standard of proof that is less than probable cause, but must be based on specific and articulable facts during a Terry Stop.

Open Fields Doctrine

The legal principle that a warrantless search of the area outside a property owner's curtilage does not violate the 4^{th} Amendment.

Inventory Search

A warrantless search of an impounded vehicle to catalog its contents for safekeeping, which is considered an administrative action.

Individualized Suspicion

Suspicion that is directed at a specific person, often required to justify a search or seizure under the 4^{th} Amendment.

Carroll Doctrine

A legal rule that allows for the warrantless search of a vehicle if law enforcement has probable cause to believe it contains contraband or evidence of a crime.

Illinois v. Gates

The Supreme Court case that established the 'totality of the circumstances' standard for determining probable cause, replacing the more rigid 2-pronged Aguilar-Spinelli test.

Plain Feel Doctrine

A principle allowing an officer to seize an object during a Terry frisk if its incriminating nature as contraband is immediately apparent by touch.

Attenuation Doctrine

An exception to the exclusionary rule where evidence is admissible if the connection between the illegal police conduct and the discovery of the evidence is sufficiently remote or interrupted.

Independent Source Doctrine

Allows evidence to be admitted in court if it was discovered through a source entirely separate and independent from any illegal police activity.

Administrative Searches

Warrantless searches conducted by government officials for non-criminal purposes, such as health inspections, fire safety, or building code compliance.

Community Caretaking Exception

A doctrine that justifies warrantless searches or seizures when police are performing non-investigative functions to ensure public safety or provide assistance.

Katz v. United States

The landmark Supreme Court case that established the two-part test for a reasonable expectation of privacy, shifting protection from 'places' to 'people'.

Hot Pursuit

An exigent circumstance that permits law enforcement to enter a private dwelling without a warrant if they are in immediate and continuous chase of a fleeing suspect.

Particularity Requirement

The constitutional mandate under the 4^{th} Amendment that a search warrant must specifically describe the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized.

Neutral and Detached Magistrate

The requirement that the official issuing a warrant must be impartial and not part of the law enforcement team to ensure a fair assessment of probable cause.

Affidavit

A written statement of facts, sworn to before an authorized official, used by law enforcement to establish the probable cause necessary for a search warrant.

Anticipatory Warrant

A warrant issued based on an affidavit showing probable cause that at some future time (but not yet), certain evidence of a crime will be located at a specific place.

Sobriety Checkpoints

Fixed locations where law enforcement conducts brief, warrantless seizures of motorists to check for impairment, ruled constitutional due to the state's interest in road safety.

Seizure of a Person

Occurs when a government actor, through physical force or a show of authority, restrains the liberty of a citizen such that a reasonable person would not feel free to leave.

Grab Area

Also known as the 'wingspan,' this is the area within the immediate control of an arrestee that may be searched during a Search Incident to Arrest (SIA).

Arizona v. Gant

The Supreme Court case that limited vehicle searches incident to arrest to situations where the arrestee is unsecured and within reaching distance of the passenger compartment, or there is reason to believe evidence of the crime of arrest is inside.

Heien v. North Carolina

The case establishing that a search or seizure is reasonable under the 4^{th} Amendment even if it is based on an officer's objectively reasonable mistake of law.

Third-Party Doctrine

A legal principle holding that individuals lose their reasonable expectation of privacy (REP) when they voluntarily provide information to third parties, such as banks or telecommunications providers.

Warrantless Arrest

An arrest made without a warrant, which is permissible in public places if the officer has probable cause to believe a felony has been committed or a misdemeanor is committed in their presence.

Chimel v. California

The Supreme Court case that established law enforcement's authority to search the immediate area surrounding an arrestee (the grab area) to ensure officer safety and prevent the destruction of evidence.

Mapp v. Ohio

The landmark Supreme Court case that applied the Exclusionary Rule to the states, prohibiting the use of unconstitutionally obtained evidence in state criminal trials.

Whren v. United States

A ruling that established that a traffic stop is constitutional as long as the officer has probable cause to believe a traffic violation occurred, regardless of the officer's subjective motivation (pretextual stops).

Standing

The legal requirement that a person must have a personal stake or a legally protected interest in the area searched or item seized to challenge the legality of a search under the 4^{th} Amendment.

Voluntariness Requirement

The legal standard used to determine if consent for a search was given freely without coercion, based on the totality of the circumstances.

No-Knock Warrant

A specialized warrant that exempts law enforcement officers from the knock and announce requirement if they can show a reasonable suspicion that doing so would be dangerous or result in the destruction of evidence.

Maryland v. Buie

The Supreme Court case that defined the scope of a protective sweep, allowing a quick and limited search of premises incident to an arrest to protect officer safety.

General Warrant

A broad and unconstitutional warrant that fails to specify the particular person or place to be searched or the items to be seized, which the 4^{th} Amendment was specifically designed to prevent.

United States v. Leon

The Supreme Court case that established the good faith exception, allowing evidence seized via a defective warrant to be admissible if officers acted with objective reasonableness.

Riley v. California

The Supreme Court decision ruling that police generally may not, without a warrant, search digital information on a cell phone seized from an individual who has been arrested.

Probable Cause

A requirement found in the 4^{th} Amendment that must usually be met before police make an arrest, conduct a search, or receive a warrant.

Fruit of the Poisonous Tree

A legal metaphor used to describe evidence that is obtained illegally; if the source of the evidence is tainted, then anything gained from it is also tainted.

Reasonable Suspicion

A legal standard of proof that is less than probable cause, but must be based on specific and articulable facts during a Terry Stop.

Open Fields Doctrine

The legal principle that a warrantless search of the area outside a property owner's curtilage does not violate the 4^{th} Amendment.

Inventory Search

A warrantless search of an impounded vehicle to catalog its contents for safekeeping, which is considered an administrative action.

Individualized Suspicion

Suspicion that is directed at a specific person, often required to justify a search or seizure under the 4^{th} Amendment.

Carroll Doctrine

A legal rule that allows for the warrantless search of a vehicle if law enforcement has probable cause to believe it contains contraband or evidence of a crime.

Illinois v. Gates

The Supreme Court case that established the 'totality of the circumstances' standard for determining probable cause, replacing the more rigid 2-pronged Aguilar-Spinelli test.

Plain Feel Doctrine

A principle allowing an officer to seize an object during a Terry frisk if its incriminating nature as contraband is immediately apparent by touch.

Attenuation Doctrine

An exception to the exclusionary rule where evidence is admissible if the connection between the illegal police conduct and the discovery of the evidence is sufficiently remote or interrupted.

Independent Source Doctrine

Allows evidence to be admitted in court if it was discovered through a source entirely separate and independent from any illegal police activity.

Administrative Searches

Warrantless searches conducted by government officials for non-criminal purposes, such as health inspections, fire safety, or building code compliance.

Community Caretaking Exception

A doctrine that justifies warrantless searches or seizures when police are performing non-investigative functions to ensure public safety or provide assistance.

Katz v. United States

The landmark Supreme Court case that established the two-part test for a reasonable expectation of privacy, shifting protection from 'places' to 'people'.

Hot Pursuit

An exigent circumstance that permits law enforcement to enter a private dwelling without a warrant if they are in immediate and continuous chase of a fleeing suspect.

Particularity Requirement

The constitutional mandate under the 4^{th} Amendment that a search warrant must specifically describe the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized.

Neutral and Detached Magistrate

The requirement that the official issuing a warrant must be impartial and not part of the law enforcement team to ensure a fair assessment of probable cause.

Anticipatory Warrant

A warrant issued based on an affidavit showing probable cause that at some future time (but not yet), certain evidence of a crime will be located at a specific place.

Seizure of a Person

Occurs when a government actor, through physical force or a show of authority, restrains the liberty of a citizen such that a reasonable person would not feel free to leave.

Grab Area

Also known as the 'wingspan,' this is the area within the immediate control of an arrestee that may be searched during a Search Incident to Arrest (SIA).

Arizona v. Gant

The Supreme Court case that limited vehicle searches incident to arrest to situations where the arrestee is unsecured and within reaching distance of the passenger compartment, or there is reason to believe evidence of the crime of arrest is inside.

Heien v. North Carolina

The case establishing that a search or seizure is reasonable under the 4^{th} Amendment even if it is based on an officer's objectively reasonable mistake of law.

Third-Party Doctrine

A legal principle holding that individuals lose their reasonable expectation of privacy (REP) when they voluntarily provide information to third parties, such as banks or telecommunications providers.

Warrantless Arrest

An arrest made without a warrant, which is permissible in public places if the officer has probable cause to believe a felony has been committed or a misdemeanor is committed in their presence.

Chimel v. California

The Supreme Court case that established law enforcement's authority to search the immediate area surrounding an arrestee (the grab area) to ensure officer safety and prevent the destruction of evidence.

Mapp v. Ohio

The landmark Supreme Court case that applied the Exclusionary Rule to the states, prohibiting the use of unconstitutionally obtained evidence in state criminal trials.

Whren v. United States

A ruling that established that a traffic stop is constitutional as long as the officer has probable cause to believe a traffic violation occurred, regardless of the officer's subjective motivation (pretextual stops).

Standing

The legal requirement that a person must have a personal stake or a legally protected interest in the area searched or item seized to challenge the legality of a search under the 4^{th} Amendment.

Voluntariness Requirement

The legal standard used to determine if consent for a search was given freely without coercion, based on the totality of the circumstances.

No-Knock Warrant

A specialized warrant that exempts law enforcement officers from the knock and announce requirement if they can show a reasonable suspicion that doing so would be dangerous or result in the destruction of evidence.

Maryland v. Buie

The Supreme Court case that defined the scope of a protective sweep, allowing a quick and limited search of premises incident to an arrest to protect officer safety.

General Warrant

A broad and unconstitutional warrant that fails to specify the particular person or place to be searched or the items to be seized, which the 4^{th} Amendment was specifically designed to prevent.

United States v. Leon

The Supreme Court case that established the good faith exception, allowing evidence seized via a defective warrant to be admissible if officers acted with objective reasonableness.

Riley v. California

The Supreme Court decision ruling that police generally may not, without a warrant, search digital information on a cell phone seized from an individual who has been arrested.