Exam 3: Search and Seizure

Critical Thinking: A local police department suspects that three individuals, Alvin, Simon, and Theodore, are growing marijuana on their property and selling it around town. The officers, though, do not have probable cause to obtain a warrant. As a result, the officers begin discussing some creative avenues for acquiring information about these individuals and their activities. A rookie officer who majored in Political Science in college offers three options: 1) looking through trash left outside of the suspects' home; 2) flying over the suspects' backyard and using standard binoculars to search for marijuana plants; and 3) using a newly developed piece of equipment that can scan the suspects' house and detect the presence of large quantities of organic plants. Answer the following questions about these options. -The act of placing a GPS locator on the rear bumper of the car and conducting surveillance on its movements is:

Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 limits ________ without a court order unless one party to the conversation consents.

Any means of invading a person's reasonable expectation of privacy is considered a "search" within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment.

Although the Fourth Amendment refers to "houses," its protections are extended to stores, offices and places of business.

Three college students who attend a public university share an apartment in Collegetown, USA. Police have heard that three members of the local college's varsity swim team live there and have all recently failed university-administered drug tests. Police show up at the apartment hoping they can acquire to consent to enter. As they approach the apartment, police see that the landlord is standing outside the door. Police ask the landlord to let them in. The landlord, who is a lawyer, refuses, citing the Supreme Court's decision in Chapman v. United States. Irritated, police instead knock on the door. One resident of the apartment is there and allows police to enter. In a common area, police find drug paraphernalia and a small amount of cocaine. They seize this evidence. Just then, a second resident of the home enters and tells police to leave immediately. They do leave, but take the evidence with them. -The landlord's refusal to grant police access to the apartment was:

Police must first obtain a warrant before conducting a search of a person's home, even if the homeowner consents to a warrantless search.

A "search" within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment refers only to a physical penetration of someone's person or property.

Which of the following doctrines would permit a police officer to seize contraband discovered on the floor of an apartment during a valid emergency search?

Completion: -In 1984 the Supreme Court created a _____________ exception to the exclusionary rule where the police officer who conducted a search relied on the validity of a search warrant, even though it was later determined that the magistrate erred in finding probable cause to issue the warrant.

The ______________ doctrine holds that evidence derived from other evidence that is obtained through an illegal search or seizure is itself inadmissible.

The Fourth Amendment contains a provision expressly prohibiting the use of evidence obtained through an unreasonable search and seizure.

The protections of the Fourth Amendment apply only to a person's home and not to other types of structures.

In ________________ (1914), the U.S. Supreme Court first held that evidence obtained through an unlawful search and seizure could not be used to convict a person of a federal crime.

Completion: -12. In ________________ (1967), the Supreme Court abandoned the trespass doctrine, saying "the Fourth Amendment protects people, not places."

Completion: -When conducted according to standard police procedures, an ____________ of an impounded vehicle is not subject to ordinary Fourth Amendment requirements.

In Illinois v. Rodriguez (1990), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the test to be applied in determining whether a third-party consent to search is valid is ____________________.

Persons crossing the national border or other functional equivalents are not protected by the Fourth Amendment.

Completion: -In United States v. Grubbs (2006), the U.S. Supreme Court held that ____________search warrants do not contravene the Fourth Amendment.

Critical Thinking: A local police department suspects that three individuals, Alvin, Simon, and Theodore, are growing marijuana on their property and selling it around town. The officers, though, do not have probable cause to obtain a warrant. As a result, the officers begin discussing some creative avenues for acquiring information about these individuals and their activities. A rookie officer who majored in Political Science in college offers three options: 1) looking through trash left outside of the suspects' home; 2) flying over the suspects' backyard and using standard binoculars to search for marijuana plants; and 3) using a newly developed piece of equipment that can scan the suspects' house and detect the presence of large quantities of organic plants. Answer the following questions about these options. -Which of these options is most likely to be deemed unconstitutional?

Critical Thinking: A local police department suspects that three individuals, Alvin, Simon, and Theodore, are growing marijuana on their property and selling it around town. The officers, though, do not have probable cause to obtain a warrant. As a result, the officers begin discussing some creative avenues for acquiring information about these individuals and their activities. A rookie officer who majored in Political Science in college offers three options: 1) looking through trash left outside of the suspects' home; 2) flying over the suspects' backyard and using standard binoculars to search for marijuana plants; and 3) using a newly developed piece of equipment that can scan the suspects' house and detect the presence of large quantities of organic plants. Answer the following questions about these options. -Assume that the traffic stop on the student's return trip had in fact been a valid one. Further assume that an officer legitimately smells marijuana. Evaluate all of the statements below and determine which is true.