LSB:Search and Siezure PERSONS Flashcards
During a consensual contact, can an officer ask for identification?
YES.Questions regarding identity and a request for identification are allowed during a consensual contact. [“a police officer is free to ask a person for identification
Does shining a spotlight on a person turn the contact into a detention?
NO Shining a spotlight on someone and asking him to remove his hands from his pockets does not convert a consensual encounter into a detention
Does asking someone to the step to the side to talk still a consensual encounter?
Merely asking if the person will step to the side and talk to you is a consensual encounter.
Is the following a consensual contact: Officer approached a man near a dumpster in an alley known for dope-dealing, asked if they could talk, then proceeded to obtain general information (name, DOB, prior arrest history), started filling out a field identification card, and even ran a records check, making small talk until the results came back–an arrest warrant was outstanding. A search incident to the suspect’s arrest produced heroin?
HELD: It was only a consensual encounter, not a detention (which would have been illegal for lack of reasonable suspicion), up to the point of formal arrest because up to that point the person was free to terminate the encounter.
CONSENSUAL OR NOT?: if you pull up by a parked car and leave it room to drive away, direct your highbeams , and white spotlight into the passenger compartment?
CONSENSUAL
Define reasonable suspicion
For an investigative stop or detention to be valid, you must have “reasonable suspicion” that: (1) criminal activity may be afoot and (2) the person you are about to detain is connected with that possible criminal activity
Does Subjective intentions invalidate reasonable suspicion?
Your subjective thinking, i.e., the purpose behind your search or seizure (detention or arrest), should have no bearing on a court’s determination of the legality of your action. Your “subjective intentions” are irrelevant in determining whether a detention or an arrest was justified
If you mistakenly rely on the wrong law to detain a suspect, but another law exists that make his actions illegal, does that invalidate the contact or arrest?
even if you rely on the wrong statute in detaining a suspect, your actions are not unlawful if the suspect’s actions were prohibited under a different statute
Case: An anonymous tip of a drug dealer led an officer to contacting the person. When the person placed his hands into his bulky clothing where there was a large lump, the officer grabbed the subject’s wrist and removed the subject’s hand revealing a bindle of dope……was the dope suppressed?
NO; The court upheld the officer’s actions because either (1) they were necessary to ensure his safety or (2) the man’s movement provided a basis, as of that moment, to detain him and check for weapons.
When does a detention occur?
A “detention” occurs whenever a reasonable–and innocent–person would believe he or she is not free to leave or otherwise disregard the police and go about his busine
Can officers detain subjects leaving from a probationer’s house when the probationer has a clause that prohibits him from associated with others on probation and parole for the purpose of determining if the departing subjects are on probation or parole?
YES, officers arriving at premises to conduct a probation search properly detained a departing couple to see if they were ex-felons, in violation of the probationer’s “non-association” clause
When there is a warrant exists for a registered owner, an officer can stop a vehicle based on what further information?
You may also legally detain a vehicle, even though the driver’s identity is unknown, when you know an arrest warrant exists for the registered owner, as long as the driver “could” be the registered owner
Can a tree-shaped air freshener be a basis for a lawful car stop?
the appellate court held that a tree-shaped air freshener was the basis for a lawful stop because the officer testified to the precise dimensions of the air freshener and explained how its proximity to the driver’s face actually obstructed his view through the windshield of distant objects, such as cars or pedestrians
Could a parking violation justify a detention?
YES; The Ninth Circuit has held that even a parking violation justifies a detention if the officer has authority to enforce parking infraction
Would it be lawful to stop a car in a private lot to remind the driver to turn on the headlights before entering the roadway?
lawful to stop a car being driven at night without lights in a private parking lot simply to remind the driver to turn on his headlights before entering public street
What is the difference between a ruse and a pretext stop?
A ruse is where officers lack any legal basis for a stop. If an officer’s justification for a car stop is no more than a ruse–i.e., the officers fabricate the factual basis for the stop–evidence obtained as a result of the stop will be suppressed
Can an officer stop a vehicle to verify if a temporary operating permit is valid?
NO: a lawful stop requires reasonable suspicion that the particular permit is invalid; it is therefore critical that you include in your report all of the circumstances that make you suspect that a permit is invalid
Can a vehicle detention be based solely on an anonymous tip?
a vehicle detention cannot be based solely on an anonymous tip and you must have some basis for believing that the tip is worthy of belief.
Can “innocent” facts be enough to conduct a vehicle detention?
Corroboration of seemingly “innocent” facts may suffice, at least when they involve predicting future behavior.
Why is an anonymous tip of a possible drunk or reckless driver justification for a bried investigatory stop??
if the car is still being driven on a public roadway, the grave risks to public safety justify a brief investigatory stop
Will a mistake of law be a cause for the suppression of evidence? Is there an exception?
an officer’s “mistake of law” will never result in the suppression of evidence if, objectively, reasonable suspicion exists to justify the detention despite the misunderstanding. “[A]n officer’s reliance on the wrong statute does not render his actions unlawful if there is a right statute that applies to the defendant’s conduct.”
When does the “community caretaking rule” apply as a justification for a valid stop?
Applying this exception, an officer can stop a vehicle to ensure the safety of its occupants if the objective facts provide a reasonable basis for believing that a person in the vehicle is ill or injured—————– encompasses the “emergency aid” doctrine, must be objetively reasonable
What is the “key” to maintaining a “reasonable” amount of time in detaining someone?
The key is simply whether or not “the police diligently pursued a means of investigation reasonably designed to confirm or dispel their suspicions quickly.
During a traffic stop; when is it allowable to ask the driver about matters unrelated to the stop?
questioning the driver on matters unrelated to the reason for the traffic stop is allowed as long as the questioning does not unduly prolong the detention
When is an officer justified in prolonging a stop/detention?
(1) you have obtained the detainee’s valid consent for a continuation of the detention, for instance, while you search his vehicle; or (2) you have developed reasonable suspicion about some other or different offense, then you are permitted to extend the detention, i.e., you may take a reasonable amount of additional time to check out this possible other crime as well
Further; “An officer may broaden his or her line of questioning if he or she notices additional suspicious factors.”
Which constitution governs the suppression of evidence?
FEDERAL CONSTITUTION
In which cases does an officer have authority to order the passengers out of a vehicle?
In all cases, you have the right to order the driver to get out of the vehicle. You do not need any particular reason, such as danger or suspicion of a crime
May an officer order the driver out of the vehicle even if he has decided not to cite the person?
You may order the driver to step out of his vehicle even though you have already (previously) decided to release him with just a warning but no citation. it is always reasonable to order passengers out for the sake of your safety in every traffic stop
If the driver does not have the required document on his or her person but indicates where it is located inside the vehicle, may you search the vehicle?
you may retrieve it yourself if the driver has no objection, or if doing so is reasonably necessary for your safety
May you look through a woman’s purse for identification?
YES -lawful to look in woman’s purse for her ID.
If a driver fails to produce identification or registration, may you conduct a search of the vehicle for such documentation?
in any vehicle detention situation where the driver, upon your request, “fails to produce” the necessary documentation, you have the right to conduct a limited search for the driver’s license or identification and/or the vehicle registration. Furthermore, this search–which must be carried out before you issue the citation–is not restricted to “traditional repositories,” such as a glove compartment or a sun visor, but rather may include any area within the vehicle where such documentation reasonably may be expected to be found.
What factors must be present for an Officer to conduct a vehicle search of a detainee’s vehicle? And what is the scope of such search?
although you may not conduct a full search of a vehicle during a detention, you are entitled to conduct a limited, protective search of the passenger compartment in areas where a weapon could be placed or hidden if you believe, based on specific facts, that the suspect is dangerous and may gain immediate access to a weapon
Under what circumstances may an Officer conduct a “full” search of a detainee’s vehicle?
be careful not to conduct a further, full search of the vehicle unless you have a valid consent or your suspicion rises to the level of “probable cause”–either to arrest or to believe that the object of your search is located in the vehicle
To what extent may an officer inspect a vehicle for a VIN?
you have the right to inspect the VIN. If the VIN is not visible from outside or not voluntarily disclosed by the driver, you may enter the vehicle to the extent necessary (such as removing papers from the dashboard) to read it.
What may an officer do to determine a driver’s identity?
You are entitled, of course, to do what is necessary to determine the driver’s identity.
When an officer observes a wallet on the front seat,is it proper to seize it and, after everyone denied owning it, to open it to determine ownership?
YES
Are Citations for “cite and release” traffic offenses “custodial arrests.”?
NO
Does issuing a citation authorize an officer to search the vehicle?
issuing a citation will not justify searching the vehicle under the “incident-to-(a custodial)-arrest” exception to the warrant requirement, even where the officer has the power to make such an arrest.
INCIDENT TO “CUSTODIAL” ARREST: What is the rule for officers searching a vehicle ?
The rule for searching persons incident to a custodial arrest does not change just because the person is (or has just been) in a vehicle.
Briefly stated, you are allowed to conduct a search, including a search of any containers, incident to any kind of lawful custodial arrest, from murder to outstanding traffic warrants.
Pursuant to Arizona-vs-Grant decision; Officers may search a vehicle without a warrant, INCIDENT TO ARREST, under two circumstances….
Vehicle searches incident to arrest of a vehicle’s occupant are now lawful if:
(1) an arrestee could gain access to the passenger compartment of the vehicle, or
(2) an officer would have reason to believe the evidence of the arrest offense could be found in the vehicle.
Searches of vehicles INCIDENT TO ARREST includes what?
- trunk
- nonarrested occupants
When the arrestee’s access to the interior of the vehicle justifies the search, the scope of the search would still encompass “any containers found within the passenger compartment,” including “closed or open glove compartments, consoles, or other receptacles located anywhere within the passenger compartment, as well as luggage, boxes, bags, clothing and the like.”
- The search is limited to the “passenger compartment” and may not include the vehicle’s trunk
- It would include containers in the passenger compartment “possessed by nonarrested occupants.”
