Warrantless Searches – Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering key legal terms, doctrines, and case rules on warrantless searches from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office policy P&P-B-147.

Fourth Amendment

Constitutional provision protecting people against unreasonable searches and seizures and requiring warrants based on probable cause that particularly describe the place or thing to be searched or seized.

Probable Cause

Facts and circumstances that would lead a prudent person to believe a crime was committed or evidence is present; required for warrants and many warrantless searches but is never a stand-alone exception.

Warrant Requirement

General rule that officers must obtain a search warrant before searching, unless a narrowly defined exception applies.

Warrantless Search Exceptions

Judicially created, limited circumstances that make a warrantless search reasonable: Abandoned Property, Consent, Community Caregiver, Exigent Circumstances, Jails, Plain View, Protective Sweep, Search Incident to Arrest, Terry Search, and Vehicle Searches.

Abandoned Property (Exception)

Allows warrantless searches of items a person voluntarily relinquishes control over, e.g., trash at the curb (California v. Greenwood).

Consent (Search)

Voluntary, authorized permission to search that must be within the scope given; best practice is written waiver and is revocable at any time.

Community Caregiver Doctrine

Exception letting police search vehicles (not residences in Colorado) when acting to protect public safety rather than investigate crime (origin: Cady v. Dombrowski).

Exigent Circumstances

Situations where delaying for a warrant risks escape or destruction of evidence, making warrantless entry objectively reasonable (Mincey v. Arizona).

Emergency Aid Exception

Branch of exigency allowing warrantless entry when officers reasonably believe someone needs immediate help; requires reasonable belief, not probable cause.

Hot Pursuit

Type of exigency permitting warrantless entry to apprehend a fleeing suspect; may later create plain view or search-incident justifications.

Automobile Exception

Allows search of a mobile, operational vehicle without a warrant when officers have probable cause and risk of evidence loss.

Cell Phone Search Rule (Riley v. California)

Officers generally need a warrant or consent to search digital data on a phone; only true exigencies justify warrantless data access.

Knock and Announce Rule

Requirement to announce presence before warrantless entry, unless futility or safety justify omission.

Plain View Doctrine

Permits warrantless seizure of evidence if officers are lawfully present, the item’s incriminating nature is immediately apparent, and discovery is not by illegal means.

Lawful Presence

Officer’s right to be at the vantage point where evidence is observed; essential for plain-view seizures.

Protective Sweep

Quick cursory check for persons who may endanger officers during an in-home arrest; limited in scope and not for evidence-hunting.

Search Incident to Arrest (SITA)

Warrantless search of an arrestee and areas within immediate reach to ensure safety, prevent escape, or preserve evidence.

Immediate Reach / Lunging Distance

Area from which an arrestee can realistically obtain a weapon or destroy evidence; defines SITA scope.

Strip Search Policy

Sheriff’s SOP: performed only on booked inmates, by same-sex staff, with privacy, written authorization, and documentation; juveniles are exempt.

Body Cavity Search Policy

Intrusive search requiring documentation, same-sex medical personnel, and commander notification; prohibited on juveniles.

Terry Stop

Brief detention based on reasonable suspicion of criminal activity (Terry v. Ohio).

Terry Search / Frisk

Pat-down for weapons when officer reasonably suspects the detainee is armed; limited to locating weapons, not contraband.

Vehicle Consent Search Rules

Valid when voluntary consent is given by registered owner, authorized user, or driver (in that priority order).

Right to Refuse Vehicle Search

Colorado C.R.S. 16-3-310 requires officers to advise individuals they may refuse consent to a vehicle search.

Belton Doctrine

Pre-2009 rule allowing full passenger-compartment search incident to arrest; later narrowed by Arizona v. Gant.

Arizona v. Gant

Case limiting vehicle SITA to situations where arrestee is unsecured and can access the car, or when there is probable cause evidence of the arrest offense is inside.

People v. Barrientos

Colorado case stating SITA generally does not justify searching containers in a truck bed; contrasts with plain view or automobile exception.

Vehicle Inventory Search

Caretaking procedure to list vehicle contents before impoundment; not based on probable cause but must follow written policy.

Inventory Search Purpose

Protect owner’s property, shield police from loss claims, and protect officers from danger; unreasonable inventories may be suppressed (Colorado v. Bertine).

Minimization Principle

Any exception-based search must stay within the justification’s scope; once exigency ends (e.g., computer seized), a warrant is required to continue searching.

Community Caregiver in Colorado

Tenth Circuit restricts doctrine to vehicles; warrantless home entries on this ground are not valid in Colorado.

Abandoned Property Example

Trash set out for collection or a bag thrown from a car window carries no reasonable expectation of privacy and may be searched without a warrant.

Computer Seizure Under Exigency

Officer may seize a computer at risk of data deletion but needs a warrant to examine its hard drive once seized.

Digital Data & Plain View

The physical phone may be in plain view, but its internal data is not; scrolling without warrant or consent constitutes an unlawful search.

Probable Cause plus Exigency for Home Entry

Supreme Court requires both elements to justify warrantless entry of a residence under exigent circumstances.