Search and Seizure Flashcards

Which constitutional amendment primarily governs search and seizure by law enforcement officers?

Answer: The Fourth Amendment

The Fourth Amendment protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures by government officials and requires probable cause for warrants.

What level of suspicion is required for an officer to conduct a brief investigative stop (Terry stop)?

Answer: Reasonable articulable suspicion

A Terry stop requires reasonable articulable suspicion — specific, objective facts that suggest criminal activity — which is a lower standard than probable cause.

Under the plain view doctrine, an officer may seize evidence without a warrant if which conditions are met?

Answer: The officer is lawfully present and the incriminating nature of the item is immediately apparent

Plain view seizure is valid when the officer is lawfully in the location, the item is in plain view, and its incriminating nature is immediately apparent.

What is probable cause in the context of a search warrant?

Answer: A reasonable belief, based on articulable facts, that evidence of a crime will be found in the place to be searched

Probable cause is a reasonable belief supported by articulable facts and circumstances that evidence of a crime exists in the location to be searched.

Which of the following is a recognized exception to the warrant requirement that allows officers to enter a residence without a warrant?

Answer: Exigent circumstances

Exigent circumstances — such as hot pursuit, imminent destruction of evidence, or a threat to life — allow warrantless entry because obtaining a warrant is not practicable.

The exclusionary rule requires that evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment must be:

Answer: Suppressed and generally excluded from criminal trials

The exclusionary rule, established in Mapp v. Ohio, requires that evidence obtained through unconstitutional searches be suppressed in criminal trials at both state and federal levels.

During a lawful traffic stop, when may an officer conduct a pat-down of a vehicle passenger?

Answer: When the officer has reasonable articulable suspicion that the passenger is armed and dangerous

Under Arizona v. Johnson, an officer may pat down a passenger during a lawful traffic stop if there is reasonable articulable suspicion that the passenger is armed and dangerous.