Arrests & Seizures (4th Amendment)

Fourth Amendment

Fourth Amendment

Protects persons from unreasonable governmental searches and seizures.

• Standing = only one’s own rights

Reasonable Expectation of Privacy

• Includes suspects home/curtilage, hotel room if overnight guest, office, luggage, or car (limited)

• Sense-enhancing tech: not in use by the general public can violate an individual’s REP

• Exceptions: public areas, open fields (even if private property), garbage left on street, or abandoned property

Seizure

Officer restrains freedom of movement via physical contact or show of authority. Test: RP would not feel free to leave.

Stop and Frisk (Terry Stop)

Officer has reasonable suspicion of criminal activity based on articulable facts. Can pat down for weapons but not frisk for evidence.

• Plain Feel: can seize any evidence only if shape obvious during pat down

• If initial stop is unlawful, but officer develops basis for lawful arrest, then evidence seized can be used at trial

Traffic Stops

Reasonable suspicion to stop car.

• Checkpoints: random without reasonable suspicion OK. If singling out, only permitted at border based on immigration.

Arrests

Probable cause (knowledge of reasonable trustworthy facts/circumstances to believe △ committed crime). Pretext arrests OK.

• Warrant: issued by neutral magistrate, supported by PC, names suspect + offense. Applies to suspects home only.

• Warrantless: in any public place for a crime committed in officer’s presence OR based on PC for a felony only

• Illegal Arrest: does not prevent prosecution of crime but may result in exclusion of evidence discovered during arrest

Searches

Government conduct violates a reasonable expectation of privacy.

• Warrant: Neutral magistrate, PC items sought are fruits/instrumentalities/evidence of crime, describes w/ particularity

• Wiretapping: Must have PC, identify suspect to be intercepted, include end date, and perform minimization

Warrantless Searches

1. Exigent Circumstances: felony hot pursuit or immediate danger not created by police

2. Searches Incident to Arrest: Immediate area (suspect/wingspan). Home = protective sweep; Car = passenger compartment if suspect w/in reach of it or if car impounded; DNA = OK; Phone = need search warrant.

3. Consent: OK if obtained by deception; no need to warn of suspects right to refuse; third party consent OK (unless suspect is there and does not consent)

4. Automobile: can search reasonable compartments or the whole car if PC it contains contraband

5. Plain View: if police lawfully present in that area, can seize any item in plain view/smell

6. Evidence from Administrative Searches: fire/health inspections, airplane boarding, int’l borders, regulated industries, students in public schools, checkpoints, special needs (drug testing of RR employees after accident)

7. Stop and Frisk: if reasonable suspicion, may conduct a limited frisk for weapons + plain feel of contraband

Exclusionary Rule

Will suppress evidence at trial (but not pretrial) obtained in violation of 4A, 5A, or 6A rights. Applies to states through 14A.

• Standing: violation of △ rights only (e.g. illegal search of your friend’s house can still incriminate you w/ evidence found)

• Harmless Error: if evidence not admitted, would it make a difference in the outcome? Grounds for appeal after conviction only.

Fruit of the Poisonous Tree

Derivative evidence discovered but for an initial violation is excluded. Exceptions:

1. Knock and Announce: even if police fail to knock and announce, evidence seized is still admissible

2. Inevitable Discovery: if evidence would have been discovered anyway through lawful means

3. Independent Source: if independent source confirms evidence you seized in violation of a right

4. Attenuation in the Causal Chain: intervening events + passage of time removes taint of unconstitutional conduct

5. Good Faith: officers relied on existing law (later struck down) or facially valid warrant later found to be defective. Can rely on warrants not obtained by fraud, facially defective, or magistrate wholly abandoned judicial role.

6. ½ Negligence: isolated negligence. Police conduct must be sufficiently deliberate.