Fourth Amendment and Search Procedures

Flashcards covering key concepts related to the Fourth Amendment, search procedures, and exceptions to search and seizure laws.

Fourth Amendment

Protects against unreasonable searches and seizures by government authorities.

Exclusionary Rule

A legal rule that excludes evidence obtained through unlawful searches and seizures from being presented in a criminal trial.

Fruits of the Poisonous Tree Doctrine

An extension of the Exclusionary Rule that prohibits the use of evidence derived from illegally obtained evidence.

Reasonable Expectation of Privacy (REP)

A legal standard used to determine whether a person's privacy has been violated by government actions.

Katz Test

Two-part test established in Katz v. United States to determine whether a reasonable expectation of privacy exists.

Curtilage

The area immediately surrounding a home that is considered private.

Open Fields Doctrine

Holds that Fourth Amendment protections do not apply to open fields, even if they are private property.

Terry Stop

A brief detention of a person by police on reasonable suspicion of involvement in criminal activity.

Terry Frisk

A limited pat-down search for weapons conducted by police during a Terry stop.

Plain Touch Doctrine

Allows an officer to seize items detected by their sense of touch during a lawful frisk if the incriminating nature is immediately apparent.

Probable Cause

A reasonable ground to suspect that a law has been or will be violated, used to justify an arrest or search.

Inevitable Discovery Doctrine

Allows evidence to be admitted if it would have been discovered inevitably by lawful means.

Consent Search

A search conducted with the voluntary consent of an individual, waiving their Fourth Amendment rights.

Exigent Circumstances

Situations where law enforcement can conduct a warrantless search if immediate action is necessary.

Search Incident to Arrest (SIA)

An exception to the warrant requirement that allows officers to search a person and their immediate surroundings after a lawful arrest.

Inventory Search

A search conducted to account for items in law enforcement custody, performed under standardized police procedures.

Administrative Inspection

inspections conducted for regulatory purposes rather than to investigate criminal activity, usually exempt from warrant requirements.

Good Faith Exception

A principle allowing for the admissibility of evidence obtained under a warrant that is later found to be invalid, provided the officers acted in good faith.

Warrant Requirement (Fourth Amendment)

Generally mandates that law enforcement obtain a warrant based on probable cause before conducting a search or seizure, unless an exception applies.

Standing (Fourth Amendment)

The legal right of an