Origins of the 4th Am'P'C'Confidential Informants

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Origins of the 4th Am.P.C.Confidential
Informants
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Viewing Trash

• Moran v. State Is it a search?

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Origins of 4th Amendment

• Government searches that most concerned the
  English Americans at time 4th Am.
  drafted?

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Characteristics of general warrants writs of
assistance?

• What proof of wrongdoing required to get general
  warrant?
• What government official issued them?
• What limits placed on searches?
• No mechanism to create a record of execution
  return

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• Why are parties arguing about lawfulness of
  issuance of warrant in Entick?
• What kinds of interests were at stake?
• Privacy? Something else?
• Did these warrants protect those interests?

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What is probable cause?

• Might it mean different things in different
  states?
• What definition announced in Brinegar?
• where facts circumstances within the officers
  knowledge of which they had reasonably
  trustworthy information are sufficientto warrant
  a man of reasonable caution in the belief that an
  offense has been or is being committed.

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Facts giving rise to PC in Brinegar?

• arrested 5 months earlier for same offense
• Had seen him loading large quantity of liquor in
  a car or truck
• Recognized driver car
• Driving on highway from wet to dry state
• Car appeared to be heavily loaded, weighed down
• Sped away from officers

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Prob. 3-1.

• Is there probable cause in Case 1? Case 2?

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Warrants Confidential Informant

• If a person tells you about someone elses
  affairs, how might you determine whether it is
  credible?
• Police obtain warrants to search peoples homes
  based on information from confidential
  informants
• Warrants should provide suff. evidence of PC

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• What is Aguilar-Spinelli test?
• (1) informants basis of knowledge
• (2) informants credibility or credible
  information (determined through indep. police
  corroboration)

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• Do courts in Barton or Utterback apply
  Aguilar-Spinelli in applying their state
  constitutions?
• Apply Gates totality of circumstances test.

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St. v. Barton

• How does court apply Gates test?
• ...magistrate should examine affidavit to
  determine whether it adequately describes both
  the factual basis of the informants knowledge
  and the basis on which the police have determined
  that the information is reliable.

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• What does affidavit say about basis of
  informants knowledge?
• Is informant reliable or was information
  determined by indep. police corrob to be reliable?

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State v. Utterback

• How does court apply Gates test?
• search warrant must (1) set forth facts
  demonstrating the basis of the informants
  knowledgeand (2) establish the informants
  credibility, or the informants credibility must
  be establishedthrough police officers indep.
  investigation.

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• What does affidavit say about basis of
  informants knowledge?
• Is informant reliable or was information
  determined by indep. police corrob to be
  reliable?

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• Does the choice of a legal standard matter?
• What explains the difference in outcomes in these
  two cases?