Criminal procedure Flashcards
(27 cards)
4th amendment
prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures
5th amendment
Privilege against compulsory self-incrimination
Prohibition against double jeopardy
6th amendment
Right to speedy trial
Right to confront witnesses
Right to trial by jury
Right to assistance of counsel
8th amendment
Prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment
The death penalty
Prisoner’s rights
Seizure
An exercise of control by a government agent over a person or thing
Probable cause
PC exists when a reasonably prudent person would believe that a suspect has committed or is committing a crime
Any arrest must be based on probable cause
Arrest warrants are generally not required before arresting someone in a public place
BUT a non-emergency arrest of an individual in her home does require an arrest warrant
The police also need PC to compel you to come to the police station for
- fingerprinting
- interrogation
Effect of an invalid arrest
An unlawful arrest, by itself, has no impact on any subsequent criminal prosecution
Terry stops
The police have the authority to briefly detain a person even if they lack PC to arrest
The police must have a reasonable suspicion supported by articulable facts of criminal activity
Reasonable suspicion is more than just vague suspicion and is less than PC
Whether the police have reasonable suspicion depends on the totality of the circumstances
Informants
When a reasonable suspicion is based on an informant’s tip, there must be an indicia of reliability (including predictive information) to be sufficient
Automobile stops
The police may stop a car if they have at least reasonable suspicion that the law has been violated
Stops and police dogs
During routine traffic stops, a sniff is not a search, so long as the police do not extend the stop beyond the time needed to issue a ticket or conduct normal inquiries
During such a traffic stop, a dog “alert” to the presence of drugs can form the basis for PC for a search
BUT, the police without PC cannot use a drug sniffing dog outside of the home of a suspected drug dealer
Traffic stops and seizure of occupants
An automobile stop constitutes a seizure of all occupants
Traffic stops and informational/checkpoint roadblocks
If the police set up a roadblock for purposes other than seeking incriminating information about the drivers stopped, the roadblock is constitutional
Traffic stops and ordering occupants out of the car
If a car is lawfully stopped, an officer may order the occupants out of the car
Traffic stops and pretextual stops
An officer’s ulterior motive for stopping a car is irrelevant, so long as the stopping of the car was legal
Evidentiary search and seizure - government conduct
Government conduct includes:
- The publicly paid police - on or off duty
- Any private individual acting at the direction of the public police
Privately paid police actions DO NOT constitute governmental conduct UNLESS they are deputized with the power to arrest you
Reasonable expectation of privacy and standing
In order to object to a governmental search, one must have standing to object to the search
In order to have standing, a person must have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the item or area to be searched
Automatic categories of standing:
- If you own the premises searched, you always have standing to object to the search of the place you own
- You live on the premises searched, whether or not you have an ownership interest
- Overnight guests have standing to object to the legality of the search of the place they are staying
If you own the property seized you have standing only if you have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the item or area searched
No standing categories
- No standing for anything that you hold out to the public every day, including:
- The sound of your voice
- The style of your handwriting
- The paint on the outside of your car
- Account records held by the bank
- Monitoring the location of your car on a public street or in your driveway
- -> But note, installation of a GPS device on a suspect’s car constitutes a search within the 4th amendment
- Anything that can be seen across open fields
- Anything that can be seen from flying over public air space
- The odors emanating from your luggage or car
- Your garbage set out on the curb for collection
Searches conducted with a warrant - Warrant requirements
Two core requirements for a facially valid search warrant: Probable cause and particularity
- The standard for PC: A fair probability that contraband or evidence of a crime will be found in the area searched
- The warrant must stated with particularity the place to be searched and things to be seized
Searches conducted with a warrant - Warrant may be anticipatory
A warrant can predict when illegal items may be in a suspect’s home/office and the items need not be on the premises at the time the warrant is issued
Searches conducted with a warrant: Probable cause and informants
If an officer’s affidavit or PC is based on an informant’s information, its sufficiency is determined by the totality of the circumstances
An informant’s credibility and basis of knowledge are relevant factors
A valid warrant can be based IN PART on an informant’s tip even though that informant is anonymous
Searches conducted with a warrant - Execution
Only the police (and not a private citizen) can execute a search warrant
Usually, when executing a warrant in one’s home, the police may not be accompanied by any third parties (unless the third party is there to aid in identifying stolen property)
Exceptions to the warrant requirement:
The arrest must be lawful –> If the arrest is unlawful then the search is unlawful
The arrest and search must be contemporaneous in time and place
The person and the areas within the person’s wingspan can be searched
Search incident to arrest and automobiles: The police may search the interior of the auto incident to arrest ONLY IF -
- If the arrestee is unsecured and still may gain access to the interior of the car, OR
- The police reasonably believe that evidence of the offense for which the person was arrested may be found in the car
Note: The police, without a warrant, may not search digital information on a cell phone seized from an arrested individual
- BUT physical attributes of a cell phone may be searched (but not data)
Exceptions to the warrant requirement: The automobile exception
In order for the police to search anything or anyone and fall under the automobile exception, they must have PC
If, before searching anything or anyone, the police have PC, they they can search the entire car –> this includes the entire interior compartment and the trunk, and they may open any package, luggage, or other container which could reasonably contain the time they had PC to look for whether that package, luggage or container is owned by the passenger or the driver
The PC necessary to justify the warrantless search of a car under the automobile exception can arise after the car is stopped. BUT the PC must arise before anything or anyone is searched
Exceptions to warrant requirement: Plain view
To constitute a valid plan view seizure, the police officer must be legitimately present at the location where he or she views the item, and it must be immediately apparent that the item is contraband or a fruit of a crime
