Police and Law

4th Amendment bars

"unreasonable" searches and seizures

search

an intrusion on a person's reasonable expectation of privacy

plain view exception

not an unreasonable search and seizure if evidence is plainly visible from a legally permissible location

"unreasonable" is based on intrusiveness

the more intrusive the more likely to be deemed unreasonable

how intrusive?

probable cause for the search? location of the search? extent of the search?

probable cause

reliable information available indicates that it is more likely than not that evidence of guilt will be found or that a specific person is guilty of a crime

totality of the circumstances

all facts and circumstances known to the officer at the time, or reasonably perceived by the officer as the basis for a probable cause decision

Illinois v. Gates

totality of the circumstances

seizure

when officers use their authority to deprive people of liberty or property

for a seizure you need:

probable cause, warrant OR be prepared to meet the warrant requirement quickly after (typically within 48 hours)

judges need these to issue warrant

probable cause, oath/affirmation of evidence truth (typically an officer with affidavit), description of specific location to be searched, description of the person/items to be seized

warrantless searches

searches made by police who do not possess search warrants, 6 types: special needs beyond the normal purposes of law enforcement, stop and frisk on the streets, search incident to lawful arrest, exigent circumstances, consent, automobile searches

special needs beyond the normal purposes of law enforcement

law enforcement officials have justified a need to conduct a warrantless search to everybody passing through a specific, predesignated area

stop and frisk on the streets

an officer may stop and frisk when he or she has good reasons to conclude that the person endangers the public by being involved in criminal activity

Terry v. Ohio

stop and frisk

search incident to lawful arrest

searches can happen while an arrest occurs, includes body and the immediate area around the arrested

exigent circumstances

applies when an officer is in the middle of an urgent threat to public safety, in which they must act swiftly and do not have the time to go to the courts and get a warrant

consent

if people consent to the search, officers do not need probable cause or any level of suspicion to justify their search- has to be voluntary, not coerced

automobile searches

cars do not carry the same expectation of privacy as homes, police have higher authority to search cars

5th amendment self incrimination privilege

protects suspects from police coercion

Miranda v. Arizona

reminder of 5th amendment, specifies what rights and when these rights must be read

when must miranda rights be read?

as soon as the investigation of a crime starts to focus on a certain suspect and they are taken into custody

what rights are included in miranda?

right to remain silent, any statement can and will be used against you in court, right to an attorney during an interrogation and to consult with, if you cannot afford an attorney one will be provided by the state

miranda warnings only apply for

custodial interrogations

exclusionary rule

illegally obtained evidence must be excluded from trial

Weeks v. United States

first time exclusionary rule is applied federally

Mapp v. Ohio

first time exclusionary rule is applied to the states

exclusionary rule does not apply to

preliminary stages of trials, grand jury proceedings, civil cases, parole revocation hearings

exceptions to the exclusionary rule

good faith, inevitable discovery

good faith exception

officers who act with the honest belief that they were following the proper rules but where the judge issued the warrant improperly

inevitable discovery rule

even if the law wasn't followed in uncovering the evidence, that improperly obtained evidence can still be used when it would later have been inevitably discovered by the police legally