Deck 6: Administrative and Special Needs Searches

Question 1

Key to the reasoning in Vernonia, which examined drug testing for student athletes in high school, was that _____.

A) participation in extracurricular activities like school sports is an essential component of education
B) the already diminished expectation of privacy in the school setting was even lower for student athletes
C) professional athletes are also required to take random drug tests, establishing a precedent
D) the courts have already held that suspicionless drug testing passes muster for public school students in general

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which statement about the opinion of the Court in Safford Unified School District v. Redding (2009) is true?

A) The Court ruled that the definition of a "strip search" includes who was looking and how much was seen.
B) The Court ruled that the school officials exceeded the scope of a reasonable search.
C) The Court ruled the strip search to be unconstitutional.
D) The Court ruled that, in this instance, there was no strip search.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

In the case of Safford Unified School District v. Redding (2009) the school officials who conducted the search of Savana Redding's undergarments were searching for _____.

A) pills
B) a weapon
C) marijuana
D) crib sheets used for cheating

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Determining the reasonableness of any search involves determining whether _____.

A) the action was justified at its inception
B) the warrant was valid on its face
C) the person was cooperative during the interference
D) a physical arrest was made in the process

Question 5

With respect to warrantless searches of government employees, _____.

A) the courts apply a probable cause standard
B) imposing warrant procedures on supervisors would be unreasonable
C) public employees have no legitimate expectation of privacy
D) courts allow personal property in the employee's home to be included

Question 6

Which statement about searches and seizures related to college students is most accurate?

A) If law enforcement initiates an investigation of a student and gains access to the student's room through public or private university officials, the search is valid and the evidence seized is admissible.
B) If police enlist school officials to participate in a criminal investigation and get them to act on their behalf, then the school officials will be deemed state actors for Fourth Amendment purposes.
C) In general, the Fourth Amendment protects students at both private and public colleges and universities from searches conducted by school officials.
D) Even if a private college or university has a policy that allows unannounced searches of students' rooms to determine compliance with school policies, evidence in plain view cannot be turned over to police.

Question 7

Probation officers need _____ that a probationer is engaged in criminal activity before conducting a search of a probationer's home.

A) a warrant based on probable cause
B) reasonable suspicion
C) probable cause
D) a warrant based on reasonable suspicion

Question 8

Random, non-intrusive manual searches of airline passengers and passenger belongings for weapons or explosives is _____.

A) unconstitutional
B) acceptable only in exigent circumstances
C) inherently biased and inflammatory
D) not a violation of the Fourth Amendment

Question 9

Police cannot legally gain access to a student's living quarters on a private university for the purpose of searching, even if they have permission of university administration, unless they have a warrant issued. Why is this statement true?

A) Because the search is conducted by police, the purpose is a criminal investigation.
B) Because the university is private, not public.
C) Because college and university students are afforded absolute protection from unwanted searches and seizures.
D) Because there is no distinction in Fourth Amendment law between private and public universities.

Question 10

The Customs Service requires employees seeking transfers or promotions to certain positions within the service to submit to urinalysis testing. What has the Court found with respect to this requirement?

A) The Court upheld the policy of the Customs Service.
B) The Court upheld the policy of the Customs Service, but only under certain narrowly tailored circumstances.
C) The Court ruled that the regulations were unconstitutional.
D) The Court upheld the policy of the Customs Service, but only if the employee signed a consent form.

Question 11

To properly apply the "special needs" doctrine, which circumstance must be present?

A) Probable cause must exist.
B) The search must not be undertaken with the goal of criminal prosecution.
C) A warrant must be issued authorizing the search.
D) There must be clear evidence of life and death circumstances.

Question 12

Searches and/or seizures conducted at fixed or functional border locations are governed by the principle that _____.

A) the officer have probable cause
B) the officer have reasonable suspicion
C) they be conducted by an officer employed by the FBI
D) they be conducted in a reasonable manner

Question 13

There is _____ at any U.S. borders or their functional equivalents, such as airline terminals or cruise ship terminals.

A) no reasonable expectation of privacy
B) reasonable expectation of privacy
C) little use for the Constitution
D) greater expectations of privacy

Question 14

Law enforcement has the authority to hold established roadside sobriety checkpoints _____.

A) only in instances of particularized suspicion
B) without a warrant or particularized suspicion
C) only if a warrant has been issued
D) without a warrant, only if there is particularized suspicion

Question 15

Federal law and the law of ______ states now provide for collection of DNA samples from criminal offenders.

A) forty-four
B) forty-seven
C) forty-nine
D) fifty

Question 16

A(n) _____ is a routine inspection of a home or business by governmental authorities responsible for determining compliance with various statutes and regulations.

A) regulatory search
B) administrative search
C) Barlow search
D) probable cause search

Question 17

Applying the reasonableness standard of the Fourth Amendment to special needs searches allows _____.

A) warrantless searches only when there is reasonable suspicion
B) searches regardless of their efficacy in advancing government interests
C) only searches that involve "hands-off" intrusions on privacy
D) warrantless, suspicionless searches in some circumstances

Question 18

Which statement about searches of student belongings by university officials and/or police is true?

A) Police cannot legally gain access to a student's living quarters for the purpose of searching, even if they have permission of university administration, unless they have a warrant issued.
B) The Fourth Amendment protects students at private universities and colleges from searches conducted by school officials.
C) The Fourth Amendment does not protect students at public universities and colleges from searches conducted by school officials.
D) Students at public and private universities have no expectation of privacy.

Question 19

Which statement about the privacy and property rights of students while on school grounds is true?

A) Students have no Fourth Amendment protection.
B) Students have no expectation of privacy while on school property.
C) Students have the full protection of the Fourth Amendment on school grounds.
D) Searches and seizures must be based on reasonable grounds.

Question 20

A search ordinarily must be based on individualized suspicion of wrongdoing. but particularized exceptions to the main rule are sometimes warranted based and are most associated with _____.

A) administrative searches
B) Ortega searches
C) aural transfers
D) the special needs doctrine

Question 21

Prior to the U.S. Supreme Court cases of Camara v. Municipal Court and See v. City of Seattle decided in 1967, administrative searches were _____.

A) not considered to be true searches
B) not subject to review by appellate courts
C) subject to the warrant requirement
D) not subject to the warrant requirement

Question 22

The U.S. Supreme Court decisions in both United States v. Montoya de Hernandez (1985) and United States v. Flores-Montano (2004) concerned border searches. The earlier case involved a search of a person, whereas the more recent case related to a vehicular search. Which of the following most accurately reflects the decisions in these two cases?

A) Reasonable suspicion is required for both person and vehicle searches at a border checkpoint.
B) No level of suspicion is required for either a vehicle or a person search occurring at a border checkpoint.
C) Reasonable suspicion is required for a more invasive search of a person at a border checkpoint, whereas no level of suspicion is required for a vehicle search.
D) Reasonable suspicion is required for a search of a vehicle at a border checkpoint, whereas no level of suspicion is required for a person search.

Question 23

Once an administrative search focuses on gathering evidence for a criminal prosecution, a criminal search warrant must be obtained or the search must satisfy an exception to the warrant requirement.

Question 24

To date, on each instance that an appellate court has considered the constitutionality of DNA testing statutes, the court has ruled the statutes to be _____.

A) an unconstitutional violation of the 4th Amendment
B) an unconstitutional violation of the 5th Amendment
C) an unconstitutional violation of the 6th Amendment
D) constitutional

Question 25

For a search of a probationer's home by a probation officer to be considered an administrative search and not a criminal search, _____.

A) the probation officer must have probable cause to believe that a crime was committed
B) the probation officer must be pursuing probation-related objectives and not acting on behalf of the police
C) the probation officer must have an exact idea of what he or she is looking for and what crime has been committed
D) the search must have been prompted by information personally observed by the probation officer

Question 26

Police and fire officials are investigating a fire. Assume that a reasonable expectation of privacy remains in the premise and that no exception to the warrant requirement applies. Officials want to search the premises after the fire has been fully extinguished. The only purpose of the search is to determine the cause and origin of a recent fire. Which statement is true?

A) Officials need an administrative search warrant.
B) Officials need a criminal search warrant.
C) Officials need neither an administrative nor a criminal search warrant.
D) Officials need both an administrative and a criminal search warrant.

Question 27

The U.S. Supreme Court has further clarified that warrantless searches of closely regulated enterprises are reasonable if they satisfy certain criteria, including _____.

A) "substantial" government interest in supporting a regulatory scheme
B) past warrantless searches having found evidence or safety violations
C) the industry being among the top five producers of gross domestic product
D) the need to be flexible in what defines the scope of a search

Question 28

Vernonia was expanded to include all students participating in extracurricular activities by the Supreme Court decision in Board of Education of Ind. School District 92 of Pottawatomie County v. Earls, (2002). On what did Ginsburg, in part, base her dissent?

A) Students who participate in extracurricular activities are significantly less likely to develop substance abuse problems than are their less involved peers
B) Students who participate in extracurricular activities must already incur substantial financial costs, and drug testing would incur even more.
C) Extracurricular activities already have enough of their own rules and procedures to which the student body as a whole is not subjected.
D) While such testing might be acceptable for students who participate in competitive activities such as band contests, it is not appropriate for others.

Question 29

Michigan Department of State Police v. Sitz ruled unconstitutional a Michigan program that established roadside sobriety checkpoints without a warrant or particularized suspicion.

Question 30

An administrative search is an inspection of a home or business with the specific purpose of determining compliance with various statutes and regulations.

Question 31

The Fourth Amendment clearly applies to searches and seizures conducted on the campuses of public colleges and universities.

Question 32

With respect to drug testing of government employees, in order for the "special needs" doctrine to apply, the employee must be engaged in high-risk work, safety-sensitive tasks, or immediately aid in drug interdiction efforts.

Question 33

If evidence of criminal activity is discovered during the course of a valid administrative search and the evidence is readily viewable by the inspector, the evidence _____.

A) cannot be seized even if a warrant is obtained
B) cannot be seized without first obtaining a warrant
C) may be immediately seized because probable cause is not necessary in an administrative search
D) may be immediately seized under the plain view doctrine

Question 34

In response to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, cities across the United States took steps to increase security to protect buses, trains, ferries, and other forms of public transportation from terrorist attack. To date, the courts _____.

A) have been antagonistic toward these measures
B) have been supportive of these measures
C) have refused to review appeals from these cases
D) have not been asked to address this issue

Question 35

The only substantive restraint on the searches of objects that occur at a fixed or functional border of the United States is that they be _____.

A) limited in scope to areas immediately accessible to the owner
B) based on probable cause
C) based on reasonable suspicion
D) conducted in a reasonable manner

Question 36

The "special needs" doctrine is an exception to the warrant requirement of the Fourth Amendment, but not the probable cause requirement.

Question 37

All states permit probation officers to conduct warrantless, suspicionless searches of persons on probation.

Question 38

When school administrators search for contraband in the schools, it is important to remember that the Fourth Amendment applies, but the warrant requirement does not.

Question 39

Even at the borders of the United States, there is a reasonable expectation of privacy that has to be observed by the government.

Question 40

Because the search guidelines for college students are so vague and inconsistent, few generalizations can be made.

Question 41

Relate the circumstances under which a government entity can require employees to submit to drug testing.

Question 42

Define what is meant by a special needs search. Provide a minimum of two examples.

Question 43

Physical searches of students and their possessions may be conducted by school officials without a warrant based merely on __________ grounds.

Question 44

In City of Indianapolis v. Edmond (2000), the Supreme Court invalidated a program in which a warrantless highway checkpoint had been established to discover and interdict __________.

Question 45

Describe the Court's decision in the Safford Unified School Dist. v. Redding (2009) case. What were the Court's reasons for declaring the search unreasonable?

Question 46

What is a permissible justification for a roadside checkpoint? Give examples of a permissible and an impermissible justification.

Question 47

Explain how the rights of a college student differ, with respect to the Fourth Amendment, depending upon whether the student is enrolled at a public or private university.

Question 48

Describe how the events of September 11, 2001 impacted government use of the "special needs" doctrine to justify intrusions of individual privacy.

Question 49

Relate the Court's decision in the Ferguson v. Charleston (2001) case. What was the essential problem with the hospital's policy?

Question 50

The line between an administrative and a criminal search sometimes blurs. In distinguishing between them, it is important to look at the search's __________ and competing __________.

Question 51

"Special needs" exceptions are evaluated under the __________ standard of the Fourth Amendment.

Question 52

Once an administrative search focuses on gathering evidence for a(n) __________, a search warrant must be obtained or the search must satisfy an exception to the warrant requirement.

Question 53

Warrantless searches are allowed for certain licensed and __________ industries.

Question 54

Federal law and the law of all fifty states provide for the collection of __________ samples from criminal offenders.

Question 55

To protect public safety, governmental entities have sometimes required their employees to submit to drug testing. The Supreme Court has allowed these practices under circumstances that satisfy the requirements of the __________.

Question 56

In the case of __________, the court upheld Customs Service regulations requiring employees seeking transfers or promotions to certain sensitive positions within the agency to submit to urinalysis testing .

Question 57

Assume that a regulatory inspector is conducting a justified, routine inspection of a tightly regulated business. The inspector, while standing in a spot that he has a legal right to be in and without moving anything, sees evidence of criminal activity. What are the options of the inspector?

Question 58

In the context of the Fourth Amendment, explain the differences between students who participate in extracurricular activities and those who do not participate in such activities.

Question 59

Explain the differences between a criminal search and an administrative search.

Question 60

Fire investigations often require both __________ searches and __________ searches because they serve several different purposes and present varying degrees of emergency.