Exam 7: The Fourth Amendment: an Overview of Constitutional Searches and Seizures

________________ exists when facts and circumstances are sufficient in themselves to warrant a person of reasonable caution to believe that an offense has been or is being committed.

The harmless error exception was first set forth by the Court in Chapman v. California (1967).

The section of the Fourth Amendment that makes warrantless searches and seizures constitutional, if they are sensible, is the:

Instances in which police officers are not aware that they are violating Fourth Amendment principles may result in the use of the __________________ exception for the Court to allow the evidence.

All warrants are to be based on which concept associated with the Fourth Amendment?

The Court devised the two-pronged test for using and gathering information from informants in Aguilar v. Texas (1964).

In regard to the Fourth Amendment, what was the significance of the case of United States v. Jacobsen (1984)?

In Illinois v. Wardlow (2000), a stop was held lawful because the suspect was in a high-crime area and fled upon seeing the police.

You are a legislator and have been reading in the paper about a notorious crime in the capital city. The defendant was acquitted of murder charges, because her confession was determined inadmissible at trial due to a violation of the her rights. Like everyone else in the state, you are very angry about what has happened. You understand the exclusionary rule, but you feel that it simply goes too far and has let a terrible murderer free to walk the streets. You have decided to come up with a state law to address this issue and make sure that this will never happen again. Explain the nature of a state law that would address this issue, justify its use rather than the exclusionary rule, and discuss any possible negative consequences that may result from its use.

A _________ is a brief detention of a person, based on specific and articulable facts, for the purpose of investigating suspicious activity.

The Fourth Amendment restricts the actions of all U.S. citizens.

U.S. society is prone to suing, making it known as a _________________ society, and the police are an attractive target because they wield power and are public employees.

Government agents who have probable cause for believing that evidence of a crime is located at a specific place or that an individual is involved in a crime must go before a neutral and detached magistrate and swear under oath as to who or what they are looking for and where they think it can be found.

The exclusionary rule goes back as far as 1886, when the Supreme Court held, in Boyd v. United States, that forced disclosure of papers evidencing a crime could not be admissible in court.

In _____________________, the Court held that "The requirement of prior notice of authority and purpose before forcing entry into a home is deeply rooted in our heritage, and should not be given grudging application."

The exclusionary rule applies in both criminal and civil trials in which a constitutional right has been violated.

You are the chief of police in your community and are quite concerned about a recent spike in criminal misconduct in the east part of town. Community leaders are constantly calling your office to complain. You decide that you should have a strong police presence on the streets, and you direct your officers to walk the beat in the east part of town, rather than use patrol cars. You also direct your police officers to vigorously try to prevent crime by acting proactively, stopping individuals who seem out of place or apprehensive when they see police officers. As a result, many of these contacts have resulted in stop-and-frisk activities by the police, and crime has dropped significantly in the east part of town. However, now you're getting calls from citizens in the east asking why a disproportionate number of minorities are being stopped and frisked by the police. You have decided to meet with the community leaders to answer this latest concern. What will you tell them?

Which doctrine states that evidence obtained as a result of an earlier illegality must be excluded from trial?

In order to reduce the use of discretion by police officers and judges, the Supreme Court has developed a detailed formula for determining probable cause that universally fits all crimes.

What level of proof is required for a Terry stop?