Police and the Rule of Law

Search

A government actor’s infringement on a person’s reasonable expectation of privacy

Open Field

Any unoccupied or undeveloped real property outside the curtilage of a home

Curtilage

Grounds or fields attached to a house

Arrest

Occurs when a police officer takes a person into custody or deprives a person of freedom for having allegedly committed a criminal offence

Search Warrant

An order, issued by a judges directing officers to conduct a search of specified premises for specified objects

Arrest Warrant

An order, issued by a judge, directing officers to arrest a particular individual

In-Presence Requirement

A police officer cannot arrest someone for a misdemeanor unless the officer sees the crime occur. To make an arrest for a crime that the officer did not witness an arrest warrant must be obtained

Probable Cause

The evidentiary criterion necessary to sustain an arrest or the issuance of an arrest or search warrant: a set of facts, information, circumstances, or conditions that would lead a reasonable person to believe that an offense was committed and that the accused committed that offense

Probable Cause

The evidentiary criterion necessary to sustain an arrest or the issuance of an arrest or search warrant: a set of facts, information, circumstances, or conditions that would lead a reasonable person to believe that an offense was committed and that the accused committed that offense

Particularity

The requirement that a search warrant state precisely where the search is to take place and what items are to be seized

Probable Cause Hearing

If a person is subjected to a warrantless arrest, a hearing is held to determine whether probable cause exists that he committed the crime

Exigent Circumstances

Emergency or urgent circumstances

Hot Pursuit

A legal doctrine that allows police to perform a warrantless search of premises where they suspect a crime has been committed when delay would endanger their lives or the lives of others and lead to the escape of the alleged perpetrator

Stop-and-Frisk

The situation in which police officers who are suspicious of an individual run their hands lightly over the suspect’d outer garments to determine whether the person is carrying a concealed weapon; also called a threshold inquiry or pat-down

Search Incident to a Lawful Arrest

An exception to the search warrant rule, limited to the immediate surrounding area

Bus Sweep

Police investigation technique in which officers board a bus or train without suspicion of illegal activity and question passengers, asking for identification and seeking permission to search their baggage

Plain View Doctrine

The principle that evidence in plain view of police officers may be seized without a search warrant

Miranda Warning

Miranda v. Arizona established that suspects under arrest must be advised that they have no obligation to answer questions and that they are entitled to have a lawyer present during questioning, if necessary, at no expense to themselves

Public Safety Doctrine

The principle that a suspect can be questioned in the field without a Miranda warning if the information the police seek is needed to protect public safety

Booking

The administrative record of an arrest, listing the offender’s name, address, physical description, sate of birth, employer, time of arrest, offense, and name of arresting officer; it also includes photographing and fingerprinting of the offender

Lineup

Placing a suspect in a group for the purpose of being viewed and identified by a witness

Exclusionary Rule

The principle that illegally obtained evidence cannot be used in a court of law

Fruit of the Poisonous Tree

Secondary evidence obtained from a search that violates the exclusionary rule

Good Faith Exception

The principle that evidence may be used in a criminal trial even though the search warrant used to obtain it was technically faulty, as long as the police acted in good faith when they sought the warrant from a judge

Inevitable Discovery Rule

the principle that evidence can be used in court even though the information that led to its discovery was obtained in violation of the Miranda rule if a judge finds it would have been discovered anyway by other means or sources