Criminal Investigations Vocabulary

Fourth Amendment 

protects the right of the people against unreasonable searches and seizures by the government 

Proable cause

the legal standard requiring law enforcement to have sufficient facts and circumstances to establish a reasonable belief that a crime has been committed or that evidence of a crime exists at a specific location

Warrant

A document issued by a legal or government official authorizing the police or some other body to make an arrest, search, premises or carry out some other action relating to the administration of justice 

Reasonable Suspicion

A legal standard requiring specific and articulate facts to justify a temporary stop questioning, or frisk of an individual suspected of being involved in criminal activity 

Exclusionary rule

A law that prohibits the use of illegally obtained in a criminal trial

Expectation of privacy

An expectation of privacy is legal concept, central to the 4th amendment, that determines whether someone has a right to be free from government intrusion 

Consent search

A search conducted by law enforcement officers that is based on a persons voluntary permission to search 

Exigent circumstances

Are emergency situations that allows law enforcement to take immediate actions. such as entering a building without a warrent

Plain view doctrine

A legal principle that allows law enforcement officers to seize evidence of a crime contraband, or any other evidence without a warrant

Search incident to arrest

a warrantless search of a person and the area within their immediate control following a lawful arrest

Terry Frisk

Allows the police to briefly detain a person based on reasonable suspicion of involvement in criminal activity

Fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine 

A legal principle that states evidence derived from or discovered as a result of an illegal action 

Inevitable discovery

Allows illegally obtained evidence to be admitted in court if the prosecution can prove that the evidence would have been discovered through lawful means regardless of the police misconduct 

Curtilage

An area of land around a house or forms one enclosure with it

Good Faith Exception

A legal standard principle allowin evidence obtained through an unconstitutional search or seizure to be admitted in court the law enforcement officers who conducted the search acted with an honest and objectively reasonable belief that their actions were lawful