Deck 4: Criminal Investigatory Search Warrants

Question 1

Which of the following descriptions lacks sufficient particularity to satisfy the Fourth Amendment?

A) Various obscene books, magazines and video tapes
B) Various instruments and tools used in perpetrating burglary, which were instrumentalities of such crime
C) All marijuana located on the premises
D) Homemade pipe bomb

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which of the following items is not required on a search warrant form?

A) Name of officer/department to conduct the search
B) Date of issuance
C) Magistrate's signature
D) Probable cause for the search

Answer 2

D

Question 3

To qualify to issue a warrant,the judicial officer must be

A) neural and attached.
B) neutered and detached.
C) neutral and semi-detached.
D) neutral and detached.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The execution of a search warrant must normally be

A) terminated when the items on the warrant are found.
B) terminated when it gets dark.
C) done in the presence of the occupants.
D) terminated as soon as possible after issuance.

Question 5

In a situation where the officer acts in reckless disregard for the truth when applying for a warrant:

A) the entire warrant will automatically be deemed constitutionally defective.
B) some clauses from the deficient parts of the warrant may be severed or redacted.
C) the officer will automatically be civilly liable in any Section 1983 claim that is filed.
D) the admissibility of the evidence will not be impacted because the exclusionary rule does not apply to this situation.

Question 6

A general warrant is characterized by which of the following?

A) Lack of specificity in the description of the place to be searched.
B) Directed to a specific officer or department.
C) Signed by the clerk of the court rather than a magistrate.
D) Used only against smugglers.

Question 7

For Fourth Amendment purposes,a seizure of property occurs whenever there is a(n)

A) invasion of a constitutionally protected area.
B) interference with a person's possessory interests in that property.
C) interference with a person's reasonable expectation of privacy.
D) infringement on a person's house, papers, and effects.

Question 8

Probable cause to search has two requirements which probable cause to arrest does not have.They are:

A) that the information must not be stale and particularity regarding place and items.
B) that the information must not be stale and that the applying officer must have applied Aguilar/Spinelli.
C) that the information was NOT from an informant and particularity regarding place and items.
D) reasonable suspicion and particularity regarding place and items.

Question 9

Officers executing a search warrant for a particularly described premises may not

A) search other buildings which may be on that land.
B) search vehicles which may be parked on that land.
C) search people on the premises without further justification.
D) search the open fields around the land.

Question 10

Proper execution of an anticipatory search warrant is dependent upon:

A) a triggering condition.
B) reasonable suspicion.
C) reasonable suspicion and a triggering condition.
D) witness testimony and reasonable suspicion.

Question 11

A police officer requests and is granted a search warrant for a particular residence.The search warrant specifies that the search is not to be commenced until after a UPS delivery truck appears at the residence on a particular date to drop off a package.This is a(n):

A) administrative search warrant
B) anticipatory search warrant
C) conditional search warrant
D) general search warrant

Question 12

Probable cause must be based on

A) Aguilar/Spinelli.
B) facts.
C) reasonable suspicion.
D) proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

Question 13

Which of the following is a violation of the truthfulness requirement that officers are bound to follow when applying for a warrant?

A) Intentionally or knowingly making false statements.
B) Intentionally or knowingly making false statements; knowingly or recklessly omitting material information from a warrant application; or swearing to information with reckless disregard for the truth.
C) Swearing to information with reckless disregard for the truth or intentionally or knowingly making false statements.
D) Knowingly or recklessly omitting material information from a warrant application.

Question 14

The execution of a search warrant must normally be

A) immediately after issuance.
B) initiated during daytime.
C) discontinued after dark.
D) done in the presence of the occupant(s).

Question 15

Which description does not satisfy particularity?

A) VHS videotape, labeled: 349, titled: A. Pretty Pet
B) RCA television set, stolen from 35 Main St., Canton, NY
C) Manufacturer unknown, model unknown, .357 Magnum revolver, stainless steel, name "Lisa" engraved on stock
D) All cannabis plants

Question 16

Which of the following is deemed not sufficiently neutral and detached to issue warrants?

A) Justice of the peace
B) Clerk of the court
C) State attorney general
D) Magistrate

Question 17

What were all-purpose warrants referred to in early colonial America?

A) General warrants
B) Star chamber warrants
C) Writs of assistance
D) Writs of mandamus

Question 18

Which of the following is true concerning a Franks hearing?

A) The purpose of the hearing is to allow a criminal defendant to challenge the veracity of an affidavit used by the police to obtain a search warrant.
B) A simple allegation of falsity and/or material omission is insufficient to trigger (initiate) a Franks hearing.
C) The defendant bears the burden of proving, beyond a reasonable doubt, that an application for a warrant contained false statements that were knowingly or recklessly made, or alternatively that material information was knowingly or recklessly omitted from the warrant application.
D) All criminal suspects are entitled to a Franks hearing.

Question 19

The neutral and detached requirement for the issuing authority means that the issuer

A) must not have anything to gain or lose in the outcome.
B) must not be related to the officer.
C) must not have had business relations with anyone involved in the case.
D) must not care about the probable cause.

Question 20

Which of the following items is not required on a search warrant form?

A) Name of magistrate
B) Owner of the place to be searched
C) Name of the officer or department to conduct the search
D) Time during day when search may be executed

Question 21

An officer about to execute a search warrant has a sudden feeling that the occupants might resist and the officer becomes afraid.The officer has no facts or circumstances to support this belief.The officer

A) may break in without notice.
B) may surreptitiously enter.
C) must still knock and announce.
D) must get permission from a supervisor to break in.

Question 22

After knocking and announcing their presence and purpose and waiting a few moments,officers executing a search warrant for stolen property hear no sound.The officers

A) may break in without further process.
B) should wait for a supervisor's approval.
C) must make a further investigation to insure no one is home.
D) must return when someone is home.

Question 23

If a mistake is made in specifying the address on a search warrant,the warrant is automatically invalid.

Question 24

The number of hours a search lasted is the major factor used to determine the reasonableness of the duration of a search.

Question 25

A search warrant can become invalid because the probable cause upon which it is based has become stale.

Question 26

Relating to arrest and search warrants,the doctrine of severability:

A) enables total suppression of evidence in instances where a warrant is deficient.
B) allows co-defendants to be charges separately
C) allows a defendant with multiple counts to be tried separately on each count.
D) allows problematic clauses of a warrant to be redacted while preserving the remaining clauses.

Question 27

The freshness of the information forming the basis for probable cause is more important in applications for search warrants than for arrest warrants.

Question 28

To obtain a valid anticipatory search warrant:

A) There must be a fair probability that specific contraband will be found if the triggering event occurs and a fair probability that the triggering event will in fact occur.
B) The police must have corroborated information from at least two different informants.
C) Police must have sufficient basis to believe that the evidence cannot be obtained any other way.
D) The police must have established reasonable suspicion.

Question 29

For police to legally search areas that are appurtenant-incident to,belonging to,or going with-the residence listed on the warrant:

A) the appurtenant areas must be explicitly stated in the language of the warrant.
B) the items that are the listed in the warrant must be capable of storage in the appurtenant areas.
C) the appurtenant areas must be in plain view.
D) the owner of the premises must consent.

Question 30

If a portion of a warrant is deficient with respect to the probable cause and particularity requirements then the entire warrant will be judged to be constitutionally invalid.

Question 31

In the case of Franks v.Delaware,the Court determined that if a search warrant was issued based on some exaggeration by the applying officer of the factual basis for the warrant,the seized items must be suppressed as evidence.

Question 32

Officers execute a search warrant to search a dwelling for narcotics and find several persons on the premises.They find no illegal substances.The officers

A) may without further justification search the people for the drugs.
B) need additional probable cause that the people have the drugs on them to search them for the drugs.
C) should without additional justification search the owner for the drugs but not the others.
D) may without further justification search everyone for weapons.

Question 33

The Fourth Amendment sets probable cause as the minimum standard for issuing warrants.

Question 34

Officers have a warrant to search a dwelling for three shotguns stolen in a burglary of a gun store.In executing the warrant,they discover many other firearms not described on the warrant,some of which they recognize immediately as having been taken in the same burglary.The officers

A) may seize all the other firearms immediately.
B) may seize only the shotguns described on the warrant.
C) may seize the shotguns described on the warrant and may examine all the other firearms to determine if they are stolen property.
D) may seize the shotguns described on the warrant and the other firearms they recognize as stolen, but may not examine or seize the other firearms.

Question 35

Officers have a warrant authorizing search for narcotics allegedly being sold in a tavern.When they execute the warrant,there is a bartender and eighteen customers.

A) The officers may, without more, search the premises and everyone in it for drugs.
B) The officers may, without more, search the premises for drugs and frisk the people for weapons.
C) The officers may, without more, search the premises for drugs, but need specific probable cause for each person they want to search for drugs or frisk for weapons.
D) The officers may, without more, search the premises for drugs, but need specific probable cause for each person they want to search for drugs and specific, articulable suspicion of danger to frisk for weapons.

Question 36

In every jurisdiction,the judicial officers authorized to issue a search warrant are the same officers authorized to issue an arrest warrant.

Question 37

A search warrant commands that the officer bring any seized property before the judicial authority named in the warrant.

Question 38

Officers about to execute a search warrant for narcotics in a dwelling

A) may break in without notice.
B) may enter through unlocked windows or doors then announce their presence.
C) should disregard knock and announce since the warrant is for narcotics.
D) must follow knock and announce requirements.

Question 39

Officers must follow knock and announce requirements even if they believe no one is in the premises to be searched.

Question 40

In the federal system the codified procedures and rules relating to search and seizure are found:

A) scattered throughout the codes of the U.S. code.
B) scattered throughout the various court cases related to criminal procedure
C) in the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, Rule 41
D) in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 21

Question 41

What is meant by the "curtilage" around a home? Briefly explain what is meant by appurtenant property.

Question 42

Explain the purpose and rationale underlying the concept of an anticipatory search warrant.

Question 43

A ___________ search allows items discovered during the execution of a covert entry warrant to be seized if there is a "reasonable necessity for the seizure."

Question 44

Explain when law enforcement authorities may be legally authorized to make a "sneak and peak" covert entry into private property.Explain the use of "sneak and peak" warrants by law enforcement prior to the passing of the USA PATRIOT ACT.

Question 45

A ______________ is a condition precedent,other than the passage of time,which will establish probable cause to conduct a search and/or seizure.

Question 46

A _______ of property occurs when there is some meaningful interference with an individual's possessory interests in that property.

Question 47

Explain the difference between search warrants in colonial America and search warrants that are issued today.

Question 48

To avoid the severity of total repression of evidence when a small mistake is made in a search warrant,the courts have adopted partial suppression,better known as __________________.

Question 49

A search warrant based on an affidavit showing probable cause that evidence of a certain crime will be located at a specific place in the future is known as a(n)_______________ search warrant.

Question 50

Even though the search warrant on its face is still valid,the executing officer must nevertheless determine if the probable cause ______________________ before beginning the search.

Question 51

Explain the concept of severability as it relates to warrants.

Question 52

Explain the rule of law developed from the Segura case?

Question 53

Pick an item in the classroom and write a description sufficient to satisfy the particularity requirement of the Fourth Amendment.
.

Question 54

Explain "knock and announce" and why this rule exists.

Question 55

A ________________search warrant specifically authorizes officers to enter unoccupied premises,search for specified evidence,and then leave-without seizing the evidence they find,and without leaving a trace that an entry has been made.

Question 56

Explain the process of applying for a search warrant.Identify the considerations a law enforcement officer must be aware of if (s)he is to be successful in obtaining a search warrant.

Question 57

Explain the purpose and nature of Rule 41.

Question 58

Regardless of the justification for a delay,warrants must be executed before probable cause dissipates,a process commonly referred to as _________.

Question 59

The person swearing-out an affidavit is referred to as the __________.

Question 60

A ___________ is used to allow a criminal suspect to challenge the sufficiency of the information upon which an affidavit supporting a warrant is based.