Search Warrants and Incident to Arrest

4th Amendment

Protects against unreasonable searches and seizures, requires warrants to be supported by probable cause and to describe the place and items to be searched or seized.

Search Warrants

Judicially approved warrants based on probable cause, must specify the place to be searched and the items to be seized.

Geofence Warrants

Warrants requesting location data of all devices in a specific area at a specific time, involving submission to a company, review of anonymous data, and provision of identifying information.

Plain View Doctrine

Allows police to seize evidence or contraband found in plain view during a lawful search, not limited to warrant searches.

Warrantless Searches

Searches conducted without a warrant, falling under specific exceptions such as frisks, searches incident to arrest, consent searches, automobile searches based on probable cause, and exigent circumstances.

Chimel Rule

Permits warrantless search of the arrestee's person and the area within the arrestee's immediate control, justified by safety concerns and potential destruction of evidence.

Riley v. California (2014)

Case ruling that a warrantless search of an arrestee's phone is not constitutionally permissible as a search incident to arrest, requiring police to obtain a warrant before searching the contents of a seized phone.

Chimel Rule - Arrestee's 'Person'

Includes items immediately associated with the person, even if removed from the grabbable area, but excludes large containers like luggage and other specific examples.

Chimel Rule - Justifications

Connected to the justifications provided in Chimel, such as safety concerns and potential destruction of evidence, often justified under the exigent circumstances exception.

Riley (2014) - Facts

Involves Riley's arrest for possession of concealed weapons, subsequent search of his phone, and police accessing the phone's contents without a warrant, leading to the discovery of incriminating evidence.

Riley (2014) - Issue

Addresses the constitutionality of a warrantless search of an arrestee's phone as a search incident to arrest.

Riley (2014) - Holding

Ruled that police must obtain a warrant before searching the contents of a phone seized during a search incident to arrest.

Riley (2014) - Rationale

Explains the rules established by Chimel and Chadwick, and introduces the new rule requiring a warrant before searching the contents of a seized phone.

Chimel rule

Defines the 'grabbable area' around the arrestee for searches incident to arrest.

MD v. Buie

Allows police to conduct a 'protective sweep' of other areas in a home after an arrest to ensure officer safety.

Rawlings v. KY

States that a search incident to arrest must be contemporaneous with the arrest, immediately before, during, or after.

Arizona v. Gant

A case that established conditions for a constitutionally permissible warrantless search of a car incident to arrest.

Belton rule

Permits a warrantless search of the entire passenger compartment of a car when the arrestee is arrested in the car.

Thornton

A case that previously authorized a warrantless search of a car incident to arrest, regardless of the crime of arrest or the arrestee's location.

Protective sweep

A quick search of other areas in a home after an arrest to ensure there are no threats to officer safety.

Contemporaneous

Occurring at the same time or in a logical sequence with the arrest.

Warrantless search

A search conducted by law enforcement without obtaining a warrant, subject to certain conditions and limitations.

Faraday bag

A bag used to shield electronic devices from remote wiping or tampering.

Unconstitutional

Not in accordance with the principles of the constitution, in this context referring to a search conducted without a warrant.

Warrant

A legal document issued by a judge allowing law enforcement to perform a search, seizure, or arrest.

Remote wiping

The ability to delete data from a device, often used to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive information.

Exhaustive search

A thorough and comprehensive search, often used in the context of comparing a cell phone search to a search of a house.

Reasonable belief

A belief based on facts or circumstances that would lead a reasonable person to conclude that a search would lead to evidence relevant to a crime.

Constitutionally permissible

In accordance with the principles of the constitution, referring to a search that meets the requirements set by legal precedent.

Secured

In the context of an arrest, refers to the state of being physically restrained or controlled by law enforcement.

Vicinity

The area or region near a particular place, often used in the context of an arrestee's proximity to a vehicle during a search.

New Rule

A new legal interpretation or standard established by a court decision, in this context referring to the requirement for police to obtain a warrant before searching the contents of a phone seized during an arrest.