Law: You cannot stop a motor vehicle and a driver randomly. You have to have probable cause to believe a motor vehicle violation is being committed or some other kind. Have to have probable cause or reasonable suspicion. (Less likely) You don’t need a warrant, but you do need probable cause. They can search anywhere in the car. There is less expectation of privacy.
Same rules apply to pedestrians
Arrests= extensive searches
Terry= limited pat frisk—presently armed and dangerous
Special needs= just cause—without suspicion, without warrants, balancing test (justifiable state interest v. invasion of privacy)
Suspicionless, law enforcement behavior (special needs detentions)
Justifiable state need (generally cannot be for typical law enforcement evidence gathering) vs. intrusion
Cases
Knowles v. Iowa
Allowed search incident to lawful summons in Iowa
Supreme court eliminates this and holds the search unlawful
Too much power given to police
Illinois v. Caballes
Caballes stopped for speeding and dog brought on scene
this causes issues because changes the nature of the stop to a search rather than temporary traffic stop (minor motor vehicle stop to drug investigation)
no reasonable expectation of privacy in contraband and that is all the dog does as long as dog in lawful place, which it was here
what makes the dog tolerable and not unreasonable under 4th amendment?
The dog did not increase length of Terry stop or make it excessive
Whole thing took 10 minutes; no delay in detention
When pulled over, Caballes is seized—not under arrest though even though probable cause to arrest
When in back of cruiser—temporary investigative detention; not arrest
Commonwealth v. Lora
Selective prosecution is not wrongful conviction—generally selecting someone because they belong to a class
Presumption is police are not acting with discriminative intent—burden is on the defense
Lora pulled over for driving in the left lane when he should have been in the middle or right lane
Do consider officer’s subjective belief when violation of 4th amendment
Statistician’s expert testimony relies on demographics of Auburn rather than demographics of the derivers who pass on the highway which is wrong
Florida v. Harris
Dog is reliable/trustworthy
Can challenge dog not trustworthy but burden on defendant; no burden on prosecution
Michigan v. Sitz
Notice in advance sounds like a warrant thus more tolerable
The amount of time is brief
Undisputed strong state interest vs. limited intrusion
Not that effective though—very little arrests
If officer had reasonable suspicion driving under the influence, go to second line which required field sobriety tests—no 4th amendment issue
City of Indianapolis
City sets up check points for narcotics/drugs
After Michigan v. Sitz, ruled that it went too far—general law enforcement is not enough
U.S. v. Rodriguez
Dog sniff at traffic stop
Rodriguez stopped for motor vehicle violation, traffic stop concludes and then asked by officer if office can walk dog around car to sniff for narcotics—Rodriguez says no
Cop does it anyways
The extra 6-7 minutes was held an unlawful detention (6-3 decision)
Suppression is not automatic from exclusionary rule—case specific instead
Warrantless Searches and Administrative Inspections
Exigent Circumstances
SC has upheld certain searches without warrants upon demonstrations that officers reasonably believed delays necessary to apply for search warrants would result in the destruction of evidence
Only dispenses need for a warrant: officers still must have probable cause to believe evidence or contraband will be found
Vale v. Louisiana
Facts: Officers had 2 warrants for Vale’s arrest and having information he resided at specified address they proceeded there in an unmarked car to perform surveillance. Saw what they believe to be a drug transaction in a car outside his house and proceeded to place Vale under arrest. They then informed him that because of the transaction they were going to serach in house in which they subsequently found narcotics.
Issue: Was this an exigent circumstance in which a search would be permissible without a warrant
Rule: Only in a few specifically established and well delineated situations may a warrantless search of the dwelling withstand constitutional scrutiny, even though probable cause, and burden on state to show existence of an exception. Here, not responding to an emergency, no consent, not in hot pursuit from a fleeing felon, and goods seized were not in process of destruction nor were they about to be removed from the jurisdiction.
Notes:
Minnesota v. Olson: cops investigating robbery-murder at 6 am and had probable cause to believe Olson was the driver of the getaway car. Next day it was determined he was staying at a duplex unit and proceeding to search that duplex, finding him in the closet.
Warrantless entry was not justified by exigency and in absence of hot pursuit officers must have probable cause to believe that there was imminent destruction of evidence, danger to police or persons inside or outside dwelling or suspect is escaping.
Hot Pursuit: Warden v. Hayden: 2 cab drivers followed a robber to residence, informing police, who arrived and searched the premises. Held entry to be reasonable because any delay may have endangered officers or others.
Crime Scene: Mincey v. Arizona: entered apartment to arrest and cop was shot and killed. Mincey was arrested and cops proceeded to search the apartment for 4 days without a warrant for evidence relating to the homicide. SC held search to be unreasonable just because it was a crime scene it does not dispense the warrant requirement.
Illinois v. McArthur
Facts: Cops accompanied Tera while she removed her stuff from her home with her husband and suggested to the cops that they check out the trailer because her husband had dope in it. Cops asked for his permission to search, which he denied, and then went to get a warrant and told him he could not re-enter until cops come back.
Issue: Does 4th prohibit this sort of temporary seizure?
Rule: Restriction was reasonable as police had probable cause to believe home contained evidence of a crime, had good reason to fear, unless restrained that he would destroy the drugs before they could return with a warrant, and made reasonable efforts to reconcile law enforcement with demand of personal privacy and imposed restraint for limited period of time (2 hours).
Even for a minor offense you don’t have to let someone back in their home.
Courts look to the length of seizure of the property
Was the wife trustworthy? She’s putting her neck out there. She’s with the police.
Illinois v. McArthur
Seizure and/or
Search
Even a minor offense you don’t have to let someone go back in there.
The length of seizure of property.
Wife is trustworthy. She’s putting her neck out there. She’s with the police.
State Action
Where did the defendant and state actor meet for 4th Amendment?
Has there been a seizure?
If yes, what type of seizure?
arrest of a person
temporary detention
or his property
Was it justified?
If arrest of a person or temporary stop and frisk of a person or property what justifies it? No warrant or if necessary we seize it for a short period of time when a warrant is obtained.
*Contrast McArthur with Place. Place- be careful. Had someone’s suitcase and sat on it for too long.
Notes:
Emergency Aide: Utah v. Stewart: cops responded to a call that there was a loud house party. Observed fight taking place inside and entered arresting 3 occupants.
Emergency Aide exception to requirement of a warrant is a part of the 4th amendment and officer can enter a home without a warrant to render emergency assistance to injured occupant or to protect from imminent injury
Administrative Inspections:
Frank v. Maryland: health code required all buildings be kept clean and free from rodents. Health inspectors had cause to suspect a violation and Frank refused entry.
Power of inspection is strictly limited and no evidence for criminal prosecution is sought to be seized. Hedged with safeguards designed to make least possible demand in individual and cause only slightest restriction to privacy.
1967, held that warrant is required for nonemergency housing cose inspections but need not be based on probable cause
NY v. Burger
Issue: whether warrantless search of car junkyard, conducted pursuant to statue authorizing such a search, falls within exception to warrant requirement for administrative inspections of regulated industries?
Facts: Burger owns a junkyard in NY which is subject to NY vehicle and traffic laws in which police conducted an inspection of the lot determining he was in possession of stolen property.
Rule: 4th is applicable to commercial premises, as well as private homes. However, this expectation is attenuated in commercial property in a closely regulated industry.
1. Substantial governmental interest that informs regulatory scheme pursuant to which inspection is made
2. Warrantless inspection must be necessary to further regulatory scheme
3. Statutes inspection program, in terms of certainty and regularity of its application, must provide a constitutionality adequate substitute for a warrant.
Here search falls in warrant exception as closely regulated business and satisfies 3 criteria necessary to make reasonable warrantless inspections.
Notes:
Arson Investigations: Michigan v. Tyler: firemen arrived at furniture store and after extinguishing fire discovered two plastic containers holding flammable liquids. Couldn’t conduct thorough inspection at the time so came back a couple other times without a warrant.
No warrant needed to enter a building to fight fire but other entries require a warrant. If probable cause to suspect arson, then need warrant by traditional probable cause requirement.
Later-Clifford rejected need for warrant in post fire investigation
Probation: Griffin v. Wisconsin: administrative like considerations justify flexibility of 4th
Inherent in the nature of probation is that they do not enjoy liberty to which every citizen is entitled and probation may impose reasonable conditions
Drug Testing: Ferguson v. Charleston: do drug test fit permissible suspicionless category? Use a balancing test which weighed intrusion on individual privacy against the special need of that supported program.
exigent circumstances—community care taker
safety issues
exigent circumstances exception to a search warrant requirement (emergency)
community care taking exception differs from emergency
it justifies entry and search for missing person (can search anywhere reasonable)
if while searching, officers see contraband or evidence of a crime in plain view, can seize without a warrant—look at what is reasonable given totality of circumstances
seeing in plain view vs. plain view seizure
for plain view seizure=probable cause and entitled to freeze situation so not much more intrusion to seize it then—must be immediately apparent
Warrantless Searches
Special Needs
exception to search warrant requirement
primary purpose is not general law enforcement
secondary reasons of prosecution do not take away from primary purpose
ex: pilots take blood/drug tests before flying; teenager required to take drug tests if involved in intramural sports
primary purpose is generally SAFETY for special needs which excuses the requirement of a warrant
Charleston case—primary purpose is for general crime enforcement; prosecute them and targeted pregnant women
Highly regulated industries included in special needs= air travel, junkyards, mining, food industry, arson/fire investigation, health hazards
Entering private land not a search unless unreasonable expectation of privacy—yes expectation of privacy in commercially owned property but not as much as a home
Requires reasonable belief
Cases
Minnesota v. Olson
Said unreasonable to go into house for the getaway car driver
Police surrounded the home for hours—could have gotten a warrant
No exigent circumstances found here
Kentucky v. King
Stands for warrantless searches
Missouri v. McNeely
Police force doctor to take blood of defendant—thus search but no warrant
Exception= exigent circumstances, blood evidence will be lost
Sounds like Schmerber case—difference though is that Schmerber was at hospital and here McNeely was brought to hospital
Missouri wanted a per se rule to allow anyone suspected of an OUI to be brought to hospital/clinic to get blood alcohol test—did not happen
Go back to specific facts and look at what is reasonable
Ferguson v. City of Charleston
Targeted pregnant women—raises 4th amendment because taking urine from them to conduct test for cocaine, thus search and probably seizure
No warrant here—what is the reasonable exception?= special needs; primary purpose for the safety of the fetus
Must look at totality of circumstances—police in on it from beginning and threat of criminal prosecution make it appear primary purpose for general law enforcement/investigative
New York v. Burger
Police copied down VIN numbers of stolen vehicles and compared them to determine if stolen or not
Essentially had to seize the property—seizure and search without warrant
What justified search without a warrant?= special needs—strong state interest and notice which acts like a warrant
Secondary consequence of prosecution tolerable under 4th amendment
Searches & Seizures of Vehicles
What is the rule on an innocent vehicle? Can the entire car be searched or not?
For containers, if there is only pc to believe that the container is the only thing with drugs can the entire care be searched?
automobile exception to search warrant requirement
inventory search when legally towed
4 most famous motor vehicle cases in the U.S.=Sanders/Chadwick and Carroll/Ross
Sanders/Chadwick= containers taken from motor vehicle where probable cause exists to believe evidence of a crime in container
Container alone is guilty BUT innocent car—cannot use motor vehicle exception
Probable cause to believe contraband in car—motor vehicle exception allowed; search entire car
Officers are allowed to conduct warrantless searches of vehicles as there is an automobile exception to the search warrant requirement
Motor homes are considered vehicles and the automobile exception applies to them as well
4th amendment allows for inventory searches of seized vehicles
Acevedo- a container is in an otherwise innocent car where there is probable cause to believe there is evidence of a crime or contraband in the container. You can now search an innocent car without a warrant for a container. You cannot search the entire car.
Using the MV exception to the search warrant requirement you can only search the container.
No MV exception if mobile home and on concrete.
Cases
California v. Acevedo
Acevedo puts bag in trunk and that bag contains drugs
Police search trunk as part of the motor vehicle exception—no search warrant and thus warrantless search
Officers had probable cause but also used automobile exception
Nothing other than that package associated Acevedo with a crime
Court comes down here and allows the search of the container ONLY under motor vehicle exception—cannot search rest of car
However, don’t forget plain view or search incident to arrest as other options to search the rest of the car
Issues raised by this case.
Has there been a seizure of Mr. Acevedo?
What type?
Has there been a search of him and/or property?
Are there any statements that might also be unlawful?
If the search, seizure were unlawfully obtained are they subject to exception?
Legal principle related to seizure:
Mr. Acevedo was seized because objectively he was not able to go about his business.
Has there been a seizure of him or his property and where did that take place?
Trespass of property of another entering zone of privacy
No question that applying the definition of seizing, taking it and looking at it
What type of seizure?
Arrest
Legally is where objectively viewed the kind of behavior by police would reasonably believe that they are entering into the criminal justice system
Only supported by probable cause of criminal evidence
Temporary, Limited, Investigatory
Limited in time and space
Reasonable suspicion
***Based on objective view of all the evidence they initially did not arrest him, but detained him to investigate further.
Has there been a search of him or his property?
When there is a search it’s legally presumptive to be unreasonable without a search warrant unless there is an exception.
Ex. Search incident to a lawful arrest. Search has to be within reasonable time after arrest
You have to justify search without a warrant.
2nd way automobile exception. As along as probable cause to believe container in car the police ca open it and look into it.
Inventory search is another exception.
Are there any statements that might be unlawful?
Involuntary Statements
Fruit of the Poisonous Tree
14th or 5th Amendment
If the search, seizure were unlawfully obtained are they subject to exception?
What is the scope of the search?
Ross- As far as a magistrate could authorize
So containers in the car can be searched if object could be secreted there
Scope is defined by the object of the search
But only in places where expected contraband would be found (Ross)
Same rule as in other context
All that is dispensed with is the magistrate’s authorizing the search
Container Searches
If reasonable suspicion a container contains evidence of contraband, may secure it BUT need warrant to search
Can search containers in other contexts e.g. in interior of car and within reach after arrest (Gant)
Inventory Searches
Basic Principle: After police take lawful custody of property, they may conduct a warrantless search for inventory purposes to
Protect the property
Protect the police from claims
Protect the police from danger (Opperman)
Standardized police procedures are key (Bertine, Wells)
But fear of abuse (Wells, Bertine)
If bad faith—where motive is to search for evidence…might be suppressed?
And consider inevitable discovery
Searches & Seizures at or Near International Borders
Seized at the border—not arrest and not temporary detention
Rather special need when seized at the border—balancing test of governmental interest in public safety/health, right to know who is entering the country vs. intrusion into privacy
Is a warrant needed?= no, can take you to the side and conduct a search
Tremendous discretion at the border—no need to explain
Unless intrusive body searches/strip searches
Places where 4th amendment is weaker
General crime solving of law enforcement is not allowed except for SUPER special needs:
at the international border
routine border searches
interior checkpoints (Homeland Security)
temporary or permanent—similar to checkpoints for OUIs
more privacy rights 66 miles north of border—further from border more rights
what makes checkpoints legal?= can detain briefly but still need probable cause to arrest and search
to send someone through secondary checkpoint you need at least reasonable suspicion
can use ethnicity at interior checkpoints but cannot search car without probable cause
airports
roving patrols
can you stop someone’s vehicle if using a roving patrol?=no
make it tolerable at fixed checkpoint—here just signaling out certain people
need at least reasonable suspicion or probable cause to believe crime committed to stop a car or that they are here illegally
Cases
United States v. Montaya de Hernandez
Officers got a court order for rectal exam
What standard is needed?= probable cause; reasonable suspicion for routine stops at border
Has the Terry stop exceeded the scope of what is justifiable under Terry stop where it now becomes unreasonable based on totality of circumstances?= detain her for 16 hours because suspect she has drugs in her system
Government interest greater at the border
Winston v. Lee
Search by government agents in area where reasonable expectation of privacy (the body)
Exception to search warrant—emergency? (normally would suspend with warrant requirement but none here)
Evidentiary emergency not applicable; medical emergency might work (balloon carriers)
Probable cause to believe he has bullet in body—it is a search and need a warrant because no emergency
When it comes to human body, must be greater caution
If we treat privacy of our body like we treat everything else, then no value in the right of privacy in our body
Balancing test arises where established rules don’t give us an answer—used here
Very rarely and very specific circumstances can enter the human body
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