Search and Seizure Flashcards
7 cards from real Police Officer practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Search and Seizure flashcards as text
A suspect freely and voluntarily agrees to let an officer search his apartment. The officer finds drugs. Which warrant exception applies?
Answer: Consent
When a person voluntarily and freely consents to a search, no warrant is required, and evidence found during that search is admissible.
Under the search incident to a lawful arrest exception, what areas may an officer search without a warrant?
Answer: The person of the arrestee and the area within their immediate control
Under Chimel v. California, a search incident to arrest is limited to the person of the arrestee and the area within their immediate control to prevent weapon access or evidence destruction.
The automobile exception allows police to search a vehicle without a warrant if they have:
Answer: Probable cause to believe the vehicle contains contraband or evidence of a crime
Under Carroll v. United States, the automobile exception permits a warrantless search of a vehicle when officers have probable cause to believe it contains contraband or evidence of a crime.
What is the 'fruit of the poisonous tree' doctrine?
Answer: Evidence derived from an initial illegal search or seizure is also inadmissible
The fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine holds that evidence obtained as a result of an illegal search is tainted and must also be excluded, just like the original illegally obtained evidence.
Which of the following best describes the curtilage of a home for Fourth Amendment purposes?
Answer: The area immediately surrounding the home that shares the home's intimate activities
Curtilage is the area immediately adjacent to a home where the intimate activities of home life extend, and it receives the same Fourth Amendment protection as the home itself.
If an officer obtains evidence through an invalid search warrant but acted in good faith relying on the warrant, the evidence may still be admissible under the:
Answer: Good faith exception
Under United States v. Leon, the good faith exception allows evidence to be admitted when officers reasonably relied on a warrant that later proved defective, as long as the officers acted in objective good faith.
During a traffic stop, an officer may order the driver out of the vehicle:
Answer: As a matter of course, without any additional justification
Under Pennsylvania v. Mimms, an officer may order a driver out of a vehicle as a matter of course during any lawful traffic stop without needing additional justification.