Searches

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Chapter 4

• Searches

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Fourth Amendment

• The right of the people to be secure in their
  persons, houses, papers and effects, against
  unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be
  violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon
  probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation,
  and particularly describing the place to be
  searched , and the persons or things to be seized

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Conditions of a Legal Search

• A search warrant has been issued
• Consent is given
• An officer stops a suspicious person and believes
  the person may be armed
• The search is incident to a lawful arrest
• An emergency exists

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Illinois v. Gates

• The test for probable cause under the Fourth
  Amendment should be a totality of the
  circumstances test
• This case modified Aguilar v. Texas, and Spinelli
  v. U.S.

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A Search Warrant can be Issued for

• Stolen or embezzled property
• Property designed or intended for use in
  committing a crime
• Property that indicates a crime has been
  committed or a particular person has committed a
  crime

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Illinois v. McArthur

• Police officers may detain residents outside
  their homes until a search warrant can be
  obtained if necessary
• A police officers refusal to allow residents to
  enter their homes without a police officer until
  a search warrant was obtained was a reasonable
  seizure that did not violate the Fourth
  Amendment

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Terry v. Ohio

• The Terry decision established that a pat-down or
  frisk is a protective search for weapons and as
  such must be confined to a scope reasonably
  designed to discover guns, knives, clubs and
  other hidden instruments for the assault of a
  police officer or others
• NOTE The officer may only pat-down for weapons

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Florida v. J.L.

• The Court held that police could not stop and
  frisk someone based on an anonymous tip

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Chimel v. California

• A search incidental to a lawful arrest must be
  made simultaneously with the arrest and must be
  confined to the area within the suspects
  immediate control
• Immediate control means within the persons reach

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Additional Cases

• N.Y. v. Belton (1981) established that the
  vehicle of a person who has been arrested can be
  searched without a warrant. This search is
  limited to the passenger compartment and
  containers therein
• N.Y. v. Quarles (1984) a warrantless search in
  the absence of a lawful arrest or consent is
  justified only in emergencies or exigent
  circumstances where probable cause exists and the
  search must be conducted immediately
• Mincey v. AZ. (1978) the Fourth Amendment does
  not require police officers to delay a search if
  to do so would gravely endanger their lives or
  the lives of others

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The Exclusionary Rule

• The exclusionary rule established that courts may
  not accept evidence obtained by unreasonable
  search and seizure, regardless of its relevance
  to a case
• Weeks v. U.S. (1914) made the rule applicable at
  the federal level Mapp v. Ohio (1961) made it
  applicable to all other courts

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Related Principles

• Fruit of the Poisonous Tree Doctrine established
  that evidence obtained as a result of an earlier
  illegality must be excluded from trial
• Good Faith Doctrine established that illegally
  obtained evidence may be admissible if the police
  were not aware they were violating a suspects
  Fourth Amendment Rights

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Goals of the Crime Scene Search

• Establish that a crime was committed and what the
  specific crime was
• Establish when the crime was committed
• Identify who committed the crime
• Explain how the crime was committed
• Suggest why the crime was committed

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Crime Scene Search

• A true or uncontaminated crime scene is one that
  no evidence has been introduced into it or taken
  from it except by the person committing the crime
  
• The elephant-in-a-matchbox doctrine requires
  that searchers consider the probable size and
  shape of evidence

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Search Patterns

• Exterior Searches
• Lane Search Pattern
• Strip Search Pattern
• Grid Search Pattern
• Circle Search Pattern

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Search Patterns cont.

• Zone/Sector Search Pattern
• Interior Searches
• Starts at point of entry
• Floor first, then walls, then ceiling
• Move clockwise or counterclockwise around room
  then search in opposite direction

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Plain View Evidence

• U.S. v. Henry (1958) Unconcealed evidence seen by
  an officer engaged in a lawful activity, is
  admissible in court
• U.S. v. Lueck (1982)
• Plain smell rationale

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Other Types of Searches

• Building Searches
• Trash or Garbage Can Searches
• Allowable if trash is accessible to the public
• Restriction Curtilage-the portion of residence
  not open to the public
• Vehicle Searches
• Suspect Searches
• Dead Body Searches

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