Ch. 7 "Special Needs" Searches (Midterm)

Question 1

What are the 4 common characteristics that special needs searches share?

Answer 1

1) Directed at people in general, not specifically criminal suspects or defendants
2) Can result in criminal prosecution & conviction
3) Don’t require warrants or probable cause
4) Reasonableness depends on balancing special government needs against invasions of individual privacy

Question 2

These searches involve examining and listing people’s personal property and containers held in government custody.

Answer 2

What are inventory searches?

Question 3

What happens to items in containers during an inventory search?

Answer 3

They are listed and put away for safekeeping

Question 4

What are the 2 elements of a reasonable inventory search?

Answer 4

1) Balancing interests
2) Objective basis

Question 5

What 3 interests are being balanced during an inventory search?

Answer 5

1) Protection of owner’s stuff while in police custody
2) Protection of LE against lawsuits for loss/destruction/theft of owner’s stuff
3) Protection of LE against dangerous items/contraband that may be hidden

Question 6

What is the objective basis of an inventory search?

Answer 6

Routine procedures

Question 7

What 2 requirements must first be met before conducting an inventory search of an automobile?

Answer 7

1) Vehicle must have been lawfully impounded
2) Inventory search must be conducted according to standardized policy aimed to justify inventory searches

Question 8

In this case, the owner left his car illegally parked for an extended period; his car was impounded, police searched it, and found marijuana in the glove compartment.

Answer 8

What is South Dakota v. Opperman (1976)?

Question 9

Why was it not illegal for the policeman in South Dakota v. Opperman to search the glove compartment?

Answer 9

Vandals would’ve had access to the marijuana once inside the car. Thus, it would’ve been hidden/destroyed if not taken as evidence

Question 10

This exception maintains that searches at international borders are reasonable even without warrants or probable cause.

Answer 10

What is the border search exception?

Question 11

Why do international border searches exist?

Answer 11

Government interest to protect who and what comes into the country

Question 12

How do strip and body-cavity searches differ in terms of their objective bases?

Answer 12

Strip search - reasonable suspicion

Body-cavity searches - probable cause

Question 13

Why are warrants and probable cause not required at international borders?

Answer 13

SCOTUS found that controlling our borders outweighs limited invasions of individual privacy

Question 14

SCOTUS ruled that border searches are reasonable even without a warrant or probable cause.

Answer 14

What is U.S. v. Ramsey (1997)?

Question 15

What is the purpose of airport searches?

Answer 15

Security and safety of air travelers

Question 16

Since airport searches are reasonable without reasonable suspicion or probable cause, everyone is notified of the possibility of searches…

Answer 16

In advance

Question 17

Custody-related searches are conducted on people entering or within areas of { } supervision without the need for warrants, probable cause, and sometimes even { } suspicion.

Answer 17

1) Correctional
2) Individualized

Question 18

Inmates, detainees, visitors, correctional workers, probationers, and parolees are all people who have a { } expectation of privacy.

Answer 18

Reduced

Question 19

In this case, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that incarcerated felons can be required to provide a DNA sample for analysis and data bank storage.

Answer 19

What is Padgett v. Donald (2005)?

Question 20

In this case, SCOTUS ruled that there is no reasonable expectation of privacy in a prison cell.

Answer 20

What is Hudson v. Palmer (1984)?

Question 21

For what 2 reasons are strip searches of prison inmates reasonable?

Answer 21

1) They have diminished/reduced expectation of privacy
2) Government need to maintain prison security

Question 22

What are the 3 general rules of strip searches of jail inmates?

Answer 22

1) Strip searches of arrested individuals detained in jail are 4th Amendment searches
2) Need for security/safety/discipline outweighs inmates’ reasonable expectation of privacy
3) Reasonable even for minor offenses

Question 23

For what 3 reasons do probationers and parolees have diminished 4th Amendment rights?

Answer 23

1) Still under state custody even if not incarcerated
2) Have given written consent for searches/seizures
3) Balancing - protecting society from recidivism, outweighs limited invasion of privacy

Question 24

Probation & law enforcement (LE) officers can search probationers’ homes without warrants as long as they have…

Answer 24

Reasonable suspicion

Question 25

What do U.S. v. Knights (2001) & Samson v. California (2006) have in common?

Answer 25

They both involve people with diminished expectations of privacy; probationers & parolees, respectively

Question 26

Between U.S. v. Knights (2001) & Samson v. California (2006), in which case did was is held that, “evidence obtained from anything less than a strip search, even without reasonable suspicion, is admissible?”

Answer 26

Samson v. California (2006)

Question 27

What were the 2 reasons that Norris’ expectations of privacy were reduced in Norris v. Premier Integrity Solutions, Inc.?

Answer 27

1) Consent to random drug testing
2) Participation in the Pretrial Release Program

Question 28

What two types of officials can search public college dorm rooms?

Answer 28

1) College officials
2) Local government law enforcement

Question 29

What are the 3 justifications for public college dorm room searches that reduce the reasonable expectation of privacy on campus?

Answer 29

1) Exigent circumstances
2) Special relationship between students & college
3) College’s duty to provide safe environment

Question 30

The case for dorm room searches.

Answer 30

What is State v. Ellis (2006)?

Question 31

What is the special need for drug testing in the workforce?

Answer 31

To reduce danger to public safety caused by pilots, bus drivers, etc. while under the influence

Question 32

Why was student-athlete James Acton denied participation in his school’s football program in Veronica School District v. Acton (1995)?

Answer 32

He and his parents refused to consent to random urinalysis drug testing

Question 33

What was the outcome to Ferguson v. City of Charleston (2001) regarding arrests made following prenatal drug testing in hospitals?

Answer 33

The balancing test weighed in favor of individual’s interest in privacy, so patient information won’t be shared with nonmedical personnel without consent. The drug tests themselves were made under the threat of arrest (not consensual in nature), so the tests violated their 4th Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures

Question 34

In general, why are student searches reasonable special needs searches?

CONTEXT: Look at this through the lens of the students and not the school.

Answer 34

Because minors lack some fundamental rights enjoyed by adults, such as the right to be left alone by the government

Question 35

This case established that schools have a legitimate need to maintain a healthy learning environment, and students have a limited reasonable expectation of privacy.

Answer 35

What is New Jersey v. T.L.O. (1985)?

Question 36

What is the objective basis for student searches in New Jersey v. T.L.O. (1985)?

Answer 36

Reasonable suspicion

Question 37

Why don’t school officials need a warrant or probable cause to search students, according to New Jersey v. T.L.O. (1985)?

Answer 37

Schools have a legitimate need to maintain a healthy learning environment