Fourth Amendment - Exceptions to the Warrant Requirement

Question 1

Searach Incident to Arrest (Warrant Exception)

Answer 1

• Arrest must be lawful
• Must be contemporaneous in time and place
• Geographic Scope = Person & Person’s wingspan

Automobiles: Police may search interior if:
* Arrestee is unsecured and may gain access to interior; or
* Police reasonably believe evidence of offense may be found

So long as search is valid, anything illegal that’s found will be admissible.

Without a warrant, police may search pysical attributes of cell phone, but not data

Question 2

Automobile Exception (Warrant Exceptions)

Answer 2

• Police must have probable cause
• Entire car can be searched
• Police can open any container that could reasonably contain the item they had probable cause for
• The search may extend to packages belonging to a passenger; it is not limited to the driver’s belongings.
• Probable cause necessary to justify search of car can arise after car is stopped

Question 3

Plain View (Warrant Exception)*

Answer 3

Police may make a warrantless siezure when:
* Legitimatley on the premises
* Discover evidence, contraband, or fruits or instruments of crime
* See evidence in plain view
* Have probable cause to believe item is evidence, contraband, or fruits or instrumentalities of crime

Question 4

Consent (Warrant Exception)

Answer 4

Warrantless search is valid if police have voluntary consent
* Person with apparent equal right to use or occupy property may consent
* Occupant can’t give valid consent when co-occupant is present and objects
* If co-occupant is removed for unrelated reason, police may act on consent of remaining occupant

Question 5

Stop and Frisk (Warrant Exception)

Answer 5

Terry Stop: Brief detention for purpose of investigating suspicious conduct
* A police officer may stop a person without probable cause for arrest if they have an articulable and reasonable suspicion of criminal activity.
* The officer may require the detainee to state their name, and if the officer also reasonably believes that the person may be armed and presently dangerous, the officer may conduct a protective frisk.

Tery Frisk: Pat down of outer clothing and body to check for weapons
* During a patdown, an officer may reach into the suspect’s clothing and seize any item that the officer reasonably believes, based on its “plain feel,” is a weapon or contraband, and such items are admissible as evidence.
* The scope of the frisk is generally limited to a patdown of outer clothing, unless the officer has specific information that a weapon is hidden in a particular area of the suspect’s clothing.

Automobile Stops: If officer reasonably believes driver or passengers may be armed and dangerous, officer may:
* Frisk the suspected person
* Search vehicle in areas where weapon may be placed

Question 6

Evanescent Evidence Exception (Warrant Exception)

Answer 6

Evidence that might disappear quickly if police took time to get a warrant
* Officers must obtain a warrant before taking a blood sample for DUI, if practical

Question 7

Hot Pursuit (Warrant Exception)

Answer 7

Police in hot pursuit of fleeing felon may make warrantless search and may pursue suspect into private dwelling
* Rule of thumb: If the police are not within 15 minutes behind the fleeing felon, it is not a hot pursuit that falls under the exception.
* Note: If the police are truly in hot pursuit of a felon, they can enter anyone’s home without a warrant, and any evidence they see in plain view will be admissible.

Question 8

Emergency Aid Exception (Warrant Exception)

Answer 8

Police may enter premises without warrant if emergency that threatens health or safety
* Community Caretaker Exception is distinct because it does not permit an officer to make a warrantless entry into private residence

Question 9

Public Shool Searches (Warrant Exception)

Answer 9

A warrant or probable cause is not required for public school officials to search public school students or their possessions; only reasonable grounds for the search are necessary. A school search will be held to be reasonable only if:
* It offers a moderate chance of finding evidence of wrongdoing;
* The measures adopted to carry out the search are reasonably related to the objectives of the search; and
* The search is not excessively intrusive in light of the age and sex of the student and nature of the infraction

Can drug test only for extra curricular activities

Question 10

Wiretapping & Eavesdropping (Warrant Exception)

Answer 10

Generally need warrant

Unreliable Ear: Speaker assumes risk other person consents to government monitoring or is an informer

Uninvited Ear: Speaker has no 4th Amendment claim if they make no attempt to keep conversation private

Question 11

Method of Obtaining Evidence that Shocks the Conscience

Answer 11

• Evidence obtained in a manner that shocks the conscience—in other words, a manner that offends a “sense of justice”—is inadmissible under the Due Process Clause.
• If a crime is induced by official actions that shock the conscience, any conviction stemming from those actions is unconstitutional.