Deck 9: Conducting Constitutional Searches

Question 1

The Supreme Court reduced law enforcement's authority to search the passenger compartment of a vehicle incident to arrest in:

A) Arizona v. Gant
B) Carroll v. United States
C) United States v. Simmons
D) New York v. Belton

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which of the following would not be a legitimate factor contributing to the decision to frisk?

A) a suspect who flees
B) suspicion that a suspect possesses dangerous drugs
C) being in a known high-crime area
D) a suspect's hand is concealed in a pocket

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which case concerns the plain view doctrine?

A) Bell v. Wolfish
B) Katz v. United States
C) Horton v. California
D) Arizona v. Gant

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Searches of vehicles incident to the arrest of an occupant are allowed, only if the officer has a reasonable belief that the arrestee can gain access to the vehicle or that_______________will be found in the vehicle.

A) contraband
B) weapons
C) evidence of the crime of arrest
D) evidence of any crime

Question 5

When government agents are lawfully executing a warrant, they:

A) must obtain another warrant if they find additional illegal terms.
B) can seize any contraband, even if not specified in the warrant.
C) will continue searching the premises even after finding the items specified in the warrant.
D) can take anything they want for any reason.

Question 6

Although the Fourth Amendment generally does not restrict private citizens' actions, it does apply to all:

A) visitors of the United States.
B) government employees.
C) corporations employing ten or more people.
D) public and private schools.

Question 7

Usually, the only person able to give consent in a search is the person whose constitutional rights might be threatened by the search, who is said to have:

A) standing.
B) footing.
C) eminence.
D) distinction.

Question 8

Which of the following would be considered a violation of a person's reasonable expectation of privacy, requiring a warrant?

A) Police put a tracker on a vehicle to monitor its location.
B) An undercover police officer converses with suspects and uses the information in court.
C) Police take photographs of curtilage from an aircraft.
D) Police place a listening device in a public telephone booth to monitor conversations.

Question 9

In 1967, the Court explained that the Constitution protects people, not places, in which landmark case?

A) Katz v. United States
B) Olmstead v. United States
C) Bell v. Wolfish
D) Gideon v. Wainwright

Question 10

Searches with a warrant are:

A) presumed to be unreasonable.
B) valid only when executed within 36 hours.
C) presumed to be reasonable.
D) unlimited in scope.

Question 11

When conducting an inventory search of a vehicle, it is important to have:

A) probable cause, to trigger the automobile exception.
B) a standard operating procedure.
C) a warrant, because the vehicle is no longer mobile.
D) a systematic method for conducting the search.

Question 12

Relationships in which third-party consent to search is allowed include all of the following, except:

A) parent-child relationships.
B) employer-employee relationships.
C) landlord-tenant relationships.
D) host-guest relationships.

Question 13

Which of the following best describes the significance of Camara v. Municipal Court of the City and County of San Francisco (1967)?

A) first recognized the use of administrative searches
B) first recognized warrantless searches of vehicles
C) first recognized that warrantless searches are illegal 25 feet outside the border they are meant to protect
D) first recognized the use of a K-9 unit in searching school property as a legal warrantless search

Question 14

Which of the following is not a fundamental constitutional rule that applies to Fourth Amendment cases?

A) There must be governmental action.
B) General searches are unlawful.
C) The person making the challenge must have a reasonable expectation of privacy.
D) There must be law enforcement action.

Question 15

Which of the following best describes the significance of Groh v. Ramirez (2004)?

A) It illustrates the importance of paying attention to the details of the warrant before searching.
B) It explains the significance of constitutional issues regarding vehicle searches.
C) It illustrates the legality of law enforcement officers handcuffing citizens during searches of their vehicles or homes.
D) It explains the need for a warrant when conducting wire taps on telephones in both private and public areas.

Question 16

General searches are:

A) routinely conducted by police.
B) never constitutional.
C) permitted if authorized by a warrant.
D) permitted in cases where the suspect is found to be armed or confrontational.

Question 17

All searches must be:

A) with a warrant.
B) with consent.
C) limited in scope.
D) general in nature.

Question 18

Routine searches at our national borders require:

A) reasonable suspicion.
B) consent.
C) probable cause.
D) no justification.

Question 19

When a person is handcuffed after being arrested, officers may search:

A) only their person.
B) the area that was under the immediate control of the suspect prior to being arrested.
C) only locations that the suspect could reach while handcuffed.
D) all areas in which the suspect could have hidden evidence.

Question 20

Which of the following is not one of the criteria that must be met for plain view?

A) The original intrusion is legal only because it is pursuant to a valid warrant.
B) The items are plainly observed while in the permissible scope of the original intrusion.
C) The original intrusion is legal because the officers are present legally.
D) The items are immediately recognizable as evidence or contraband.

Question 21

Illinois v. McArthur (2001) dealt with whether an officer could refuse to allow a resident to enter his home without a police officer until a search warrant could be obtained.

Question 22

The precedent case for search and seizure of abandoned property and open fields is Arizona v. Gant.

Question 23

The automobile exception, as it stands today, simply states that if a government agent has probable cause to believe the vehicle contains contraband or evidence of a crime, no warrant is needed.

Question 24

United States v. Warshak affirmed:

A) that mobility produces exigent circumstances.
B) that no expectation of privacy exists in peer-to-peer sharing services.
C) a diminished expectation of privacy in a vehicle.
D) that there is a reasonable expectation of privacy in e-mails.

Question 25

A seizure occurs whenever a vehicle is stopped, and so Fourth Amendment prohibitions against unreasonable search and seizure apply.

Question 26

In Riley v. California (2014), it was concluded that all property immediately associated with the arrestee may be searched incident to arrest.

Question 27

When government agents search a person incident to arrest, they may use reasonable force to protect themselves, as well as to prevent escape or the destruction or concealment of evidence.

Question 28

The "open fields" doctrine holds that land beyond that normally associated with use of that land, that is, undeveloped land, may not be searched without a warrant.

Question 29

Prior to 1967, courts took a property-based approach to defining a search and when constitutional protections were implicated.

Question 30

Once given, consent may be revoked at any point.

Question 31

The Supreme Court ruled that unannounced cell searches do not require warrants, do not violate inmates' Fourth Amendment rights, and are justified by the need to maintain order in:

A) Morrissey v. Brewer.
B) Bell v. Wolfish.
C) Gideon v. Wainwright.
D) Katz v. United States.

Question 32

After officers have obtained their search warrant and gained entrance, they can search only areas in which they reasonably believe the specified items might be found.

Question 33

While the terms may be similar, legally there is no overlap between the trespass and privacy doctrines.

Question 34

Police officers who have established probable cause that evidence is likely to be at a certain place and who do not have time to get a search warrant may conduct a warrantless search based on exigent circumstances.

Question 35

If an individual gives voluntary consent for the police to search his or her person or property, the police may do so without a warrant, and any evidence found will be admissible in court.

Question 36

Which of the following does not deal with the rights of probationers or parolees?

A) United States v. Thomas
B) United States v. Knights
C) Griffin v. Wisconsin
D) Bell v. Wolfish

Question 37

Electronic surveillance is a form of search and seizure and, as such, is governed by which of the Amendments?

A) the First Amendment
B) the Second Amendment
C) the Fourth Amendment
D) the Sixth Amendment

Question 38

The concept of curtilage evolved in the Supreme Court's attempt to ascertain just how far beyond one's house the reasonable expectation of privacy extended.

Question 39

The court has allowed, as reasonable, third-party consent searches in which an apparent authority existed.

Question 40

Electronic surveillance:

A) is governed by the Fourth Amendment.
B) never requires a warrant.
C) produces no intrusion on a person's reasonable expectation of privacy.
D) requires a warrant only when entry on premises is necessary to conduct the surveillance.

Question 41

Once an individual has left the immediate vicinity of the search warrant, the police must have independent reasons under the Fourth Amendment to seize and detain that person was decided in the case of _________________.

Question 42

"Dumpster diving" or "trash pulls" are methods for obtaining incriminating evidence that often provide legal grounds to obtain a search warrant of a home.

Question 43

A concept that holds that a search can be incident to an arrest only if it occurs at the same time as the arrest and is confined to the immediate vicinity of the arrest is known as _________________.

Question 44

School officials may search students in public schools for contraband without a warrant as long as the search is reasonable and does not violate the Fourth Amendment.

Question 45

The Wiretap Act of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 prohibits the interception of phone conversations unless one party to the conversation consents or when authorized by the competent jurisdiction.

Question 46

Courts typically justify the consent exception by two separate tests: first, the _______________ which mandates the consent was obtained without coercion or promises and was, therefore, reasonable.

Question 47

_____________________ is  defined as anything that is illegal for people to own or have in their possession, for example, child pornography, illegal drugs, or illegal weapons

Question 48

Defining a _________________________ uses a two-pronged test of a situation in which
(1) a person has exhibited an actual (subjective) expectation of privacy and
(2) that expectation is one that society is prepared to recognize as reasonable.

Question 49

The Court has ruled that searches of visitors, correctional officers, and other corrections personnel are illegal without a warrant or probable cause of crime commission.

Question 50

The issue of when an officer may proceed with a vehicle search incident to arrest of a recent occupant was addressed in _______________________.

Question 51

_________________ refers to the unreasonableness and unlawfulness of searches of seized luggage or other personal belongings not immediately associated with the arrestee's body or under his or her immediate control.

Question 52

The case of __________________ established that a search with a warrant includes limited authority to detain the occupants of the premises during the search.

Question 53

The Supreme Court ruled in 1993 that police do not need a warrant to seize narcotics detected while frisking a suspect for concealed weapons, as long as the narcotics are instantly recognizable by _______________________.

Question 54

The case of _____________________ established that vehicles can be searched without a warrant, provided
(1) there is probable cause to believe the vehicle's contents violate the law, and
(2) the vehicle would be gone before a search warrant could be obtained.

Question 55

A type of shadow in astronomy with the principle extending to the idea that certain constitutional rights are implied within other constitutional rights is known as a _________________.

Question 56

__________________must meet three criteria:
(1) the officer is lawfully present at the place from which the evidence can be plainly viewed;
(2) the officer has a lawful right of access to the object; and
(3) the object's incriminating character is immediately apparent.

Question 57

A ___________________ is a  limited search made in conjunction with an in-home arrest when the searching officer possesses a reasonable belief based on specific and articulable facts that the area to be swept harbors an individual posing a danger to those on the arrest scene

Question 58

The issue of whether employers can inspect employee computer use rests on whether the company has a policy in place addressing this issue.

Question 59

An exemption of a public official from civil liability for actions performed during the course of his or her job unless they violated a "clearly established" constitutional or statutory right of which a reasonable person would have known is referred to as __________________.

Question 60

The Court defined _________________ the area within a person's reach or immediate control.

Question 61

When a full body search is lawful, police might still be found to have gone too far. This area of law is still being shaped. What limits do you think should be placed on these searches? Do you think your standard adequately reflects the need for effective law enforcement to be balanced with individual rights? Explain.

Question 62

Explain the justifications for the automobile exception to the requirement for a warrant.

Question 63

____________________ include danger of physical harm to an officer or others, danger of destruction of evidence, driving while intoxicated, hot-pursuit situations, and individuals requiring "rescuing," for example, unconscious individuals.

Question 64

Explain how border searches differ from other searches under the Fourth Amendment.

Question 65

Discuss the relationship between electronic surveillance and one's reasonable expectation of privacy.

Question 66

Police officers can legally tow and impound vehicles for many reasons, including vehicles involved in accidents, parked in a tow-away zone, or abandoned on the highway. When the police impound a vehicle for legitimate reason, they may lawfully conduct an inventory search. Assume a police officer lacks probable cause but has a "gut feeling" that a known malcontent from the community has marijuana in the trunk of his car. The police officer follows the malcontent until she fails to stop completely at a stop sign. The police officer pulls over at the malcontent and, after asking for license and registration, finds out (as she already suspected) that the malcontent has a suspended license. The police officer arrests the malcontent and puts her in the backseat of her police car. She then calls the local tow company to impound the vehicle for the owner's safety. The police officer is then happy to hear that during a normal inventory inspection of the vehicle, marijuana is found and she promptly informs the district attorney's office. If the police officer has done nothing that violates the law or the Fourth Amendment, can you articulate an argument that challenges what the police officer did?

Question 67

The case of ___________________ held that "the Constitution does not prohibit a government agent from using an electronic device to record a telephone conversation between two parties with the consent of one party to the conversation."

Question 68

A(n) _______________________ allows civil inspections of private property to determine compliance with government rules, regulations, and city ordinances such as fire or building codes.

Question 69

Discuss what might constitute exigent circumstances. Give specific examples.

Question 70

List three fundamental constitutional rules for searches and discuss their importance.

Question 71

One of the exceptions to a search warrant is known as exigent circumstances. If police officers have established probable cause that evidence is likely to be in a certain place and do not have time to get a search warrant, they may conduct a warrantless search. This can include a reasonable belief that evidence will be removed or destroyed if the officers wait for a warrant. Some courts are dubious of this exception since police officers can frequently create the risk of destruction of evidence by their own behavior. Do you think there is a potential abuse of this exception by the police? If so, how? If not, why not?

Question 72

Using the three criteria for the plain view doctrine, provide one scenario involving illegal drugs in the trunk of a car that properly utilizes this doctrine and one with similar facts that fails to meet the test.

Question 73

The Supreme Court has ruled that the expectation of privacy does not exist when someone voluntarily converses with someone else known as the ________________exception.

Question 74

Discuss at least five exceptions to the search warrant requirement.

Question 75

The portion of property generally associated with the common use of land is known as ___________.