Knoxville Police Department Definitions and Law Cases

Vocabulary terms, legal definitions, case law precedents

Accessory

One not present at the commission of crime but in some concerned, either before or after the crime.

Accomplice

Person rendering assistance in the commission of crime.

Acquiescence

Silent appearance of consent. Consent by silence.

Affidavit

A sworn statement primarily used to justify the issuance of an arrest warrant or a search warrant.

Allegation

In a legal setting, a claim or assertion that has yet to be proven or established as a fact.

Arrest Warrant

A written order from a judge or magistrate directing a law enforcement officer to take a person suspected of a crime into physical custody.

Assault

Unlawful offer or attempt to do bodily harm.

Assault & Battery

Assault completed to include bodily harm.

Attachment

A warrant that is issued by a court to have someone arrested for such things as failure to appear in court or contempt of court.

Attempt

Endeavor to commit a crime, which proceeds beyond mere preparation but stops short of completion.

Battery

Unlawful physical violence to a person.

Bench Warrant

Similar to an arrest warrant; an order issued by a judge to bring a person before his/her court.

Breaking

The initial act of burglary, disturbing the enclosure in any way.

Burden of Proof

Level of proof required at various stages of prosecution.

Circumstantial Evidence

Evidence of surrounding and accompanying events, which indirectly indicates the existence of an unproven fact.

Civil

Pertaining to disputes between private persons, and distinguished from criminal prosecutions by the government.

Civil Rights

Rights assured to every citizen and which must be observed in handling citizens.

Code

Systematic arrangement of statutory law. Tennessee Code Annotated.

Confession

Voluntary statement of guilt.

Contraband

Anything subject to seizure/confiscation.

Criminal Summons

A charging instrument where the person is not arrested and taken into custody, but instead, must be booked and appear in court to respond to the criminal charge against him/her.

Delinquent Act

A violation of the law by a juvenile.

Duress

Personal restraint or fear compelling an unwilling act.

Dying Declaration

Statement by deceased while on his deathbed, concerning the person who committed his murder.

Execute

To carry into effect, as to execute a warrant by arresting the accused as directed in the warrant.

False Imprisonment

Unlawful restraint of liberty.

Felony

Any crime for which the punishment is at least one year or more.

Fugitive

One who flees to escape prosecution for a crime.

Habitual Criminal

Defined by statute as being one who has been convicted of three felonies.

Hearsay

Evidence given by one without personal knowledge of the facts stated.

Incrimination

Giving evidence against one’s self, Fifth Amendment protects from compulsory self-incrimination.

Instanter

Immediately, refers to court summons or orders requiring response immediately as distinguished from action on a future date.

Jurisdiction

The legal authority of a court to make decisions and exercise judicial power over certain types of cases and within certain geographical boundaries.

Mere Suspicion

A hunch that criminal activity is afoot. There are no 'facts' a law enforcement officer can use to explain or justify his or her feeling. This standard will legally justify a voluntary/consensual stop only.

Misdemeanor

A class of crimes where the punishment cannot exceed eleven months and twenty-nine days.

Mittimus

A warrant committing a person to jail.

Nuisance

Anything, which causes hurt, inconvenience or damage. May be a single act, or a condition permitted to exist. May be public, affecting several people, or private.

Ordinance

Municipal law passed by city council and applying only to the city.

Probable Cause

Facts and circumstances based on reasonably trustworthy information that leads a reasonable person to believe a crime has been, is being, or is about to be committed and the arrestee or person to be arrested committed the crime.

Reasonable Suspicion

Based on specific, articulable facts and reasonable inferences drawn from those facts. These facts may lead an officer to suspect that an individual has been, is being, or is about to be involved in criminal activity.

Search Warrant

An order by a court ordering an officer to search a certain premises.

Self Defense

Protection of one's person or property from injury. Also includes certain members of family and is used as excuse for violence and homicide.

Subpoena

Order to appear before a court, usually as a witness.

Trespass

Unlawful entry upon property of another.

Unconstitutional

Contrary to some provision of the state or federal constitution.

Warrant

Judicial order instructing proper officer to arrest a named individual and bring before the court. May also be a civil writ for notifying of a civil suit.

U.S. v. Santana

Established that the 'hot pursuit' of a wanted felony suspect from a public place into his or her residence to make a warrantless arrest is justified.

EXIGENT CIRCUMSTANCES (U.S. v. McConney)

Emergency conditions that would cause a reasonable person to believe that entry (or other relevant prompt action) was necessary to prevent physical harm to the officers or other persons, the destruction of relevant evidence, the escape of a suspect, or some other consequence improperly frustrating legitimate law enforcement efforts.

Illinois v. Lafayette

Established that the inventory of the personal property of an arrested person is its own justification for the search, without requiring a showing of probable cause.

Fernandez v. California

Held that police officers may lawfully conduct a search of a home without a warrant if a physically present occupant consents to the search and no physically present occupant refuses, even if a physically absent occupant refuses.

Terry v. Ohio

Established that a police officer may stop a suspect on the street and frisk him or her without probable cause to arrest if there is reasonable suspicion of criminal activity and reasonable belief the person may be armed and presently dangerous.

Florida v. J.L.

Ruled that an anonymous tip that a person is carrying a gun is not, without more, sufficient to justify a police officer's stop and frisk of that person.

Illinois v. Wardlow

Held that while presence in a high crime area alone is insufficient for reasonable suspicion, unprovoked headlong flight in such an area is evasive behavior that can support reasonable suspicion for a brief Terry stop.

Samson v. California

Held that the suspicionless search of a parolee by a police officer pursuant to a state statute requiring written agreement to searches does not violate the Fourth Amendment.

Arizona v. Johnson

Established that inquiries unrelated to the traffic stop do not convert a lawful seizure into an unlawful one if duration is not measurably extended, and a pat down requires reasonable suspicion that the individual is armed and dangerous.

Maryland v. Buie

Held that as an incident to arrest, officers may conduct a protective sweep of closets and immediate adjoining spaces without probable cause or reasonable suspicion; sweeping beyond requires reasonable suspicion.

Pennsylvania v. Mimms

Established that ordering a driver out of a vehicle during a lawful traffic stop is reasonable and permissible under the Fourth Amendment for officer safety.

Maryland v. Wilson

Extended the rule of Pennsylvania v. Mimms to allow officers to order passengers out of a lawfully stopped car as a matter of course.

Brendlin v. California

Established that a passenger in a car is seized under the Fourth Amendment during a traffic stop.

Carroll v. U.S.

Established that police may conduct a warrantless search of a vehicle stopped on traffic if there is probable cause to believe it contains contraband or evidence, based on the exigent circumstance of vehicle mobility.

Arizona v. Grant

Limited vehicle searches incident to arrest, holding that police may search the passenger compartment only if it is reasonable to believe the arrestee might access the vehicle at the time of search or that it contains evidence of the offense of arrest.

U.S. v. Barber

Validated consent to search a passenger's bag given by the driver when the driver had apparent authority, the bag was in easy reach, and the passenger did not object.

Tennessee v. Garner

Held that a police officer may use deadly force to prevent the escape of a fleeing suspect only if the officer has a good-faith belief that the suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer or others.

Graham v. Connor

Established that excessive force claims during an arrest, stop, or seizure are evaluated under the Fourth Amendment objective reasonableness standard based on crime severity, officer danger, and flight risk.

Barnes v. Felix

Rejected the moment-of-threat rule, ruling that Fourth Amendment reasonableness of force must be evaluated considering the totality of circumstances, including relevant events leading up to the force.

Miranda v. Arizona

Established an irrebuttable presumption that a statement is involuntary if made during custodial interrogation without Miranda warnings being given.

U.S. v. Ferguson

Held that the public safety exception to the Miranda requirement still applies even after a time delay if a gun continues to pose an immediate threat to public safety.