Police Officer Search and Seizure 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A suspect freely and voluntarily agrees to let an officer search his apartment. The officer finds drugs. Which warrant exception applies?
- Exigent circumstances
- Search incident to arrest
- Consent (Correct answer)
- Plain view
Correct answer: Consent
When a person voluntarily and freely consents to a search, no warrant is required, and evidence found during that search is admissible.
Question 2: Under the search incident to a lawful arrest exception, what areas may an officer search without a warrant?
- The entire residence where the arrest occurred
- The person of the arrestee and the area within their immediate control (Correct answer)
- All rooms visible from the arrest location
- Any vehicle parked within 100 feet of the arrest
Correct 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.
Question 3: The automobile exception allows police to search a vehicle without a warrant if they have:
- Reasonable suspicion only
- Probable cause to believe the vehicle contains contraband or evidence of a crime (Correct answer)
- Consent of the registered owner only
- A traffic violation citation
Correct 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.
Question 4: What is the 'fruit of the poisonous tree' doctrine?
- Evidence found at crime scenes involving plants or vegetation
- Evidence derived from an initial illegal search or seizure is also inadmissible (Correct answer)
- A rule allowing the use of evidence found during hot pursuit
- A doctrine permitting searches of gardens and yards
Correct 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.
Question 5: Which of the following best describes the curtilage of a home for Fourth Amendment purposes?
- Only the interior of the home
- The area immediately surrounding the home that shares the home's intimate activities (Correct answer)
- All property owned by the homeowner regardless of distance
- Only fenced areas adjacent to the home
Correct 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.
Question 6: 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:
- Silver platter doctrine
- Good faith exception (Correct answer)
- Inevitable discovery doctrine
- Independent source rule
Correct 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.
Question 7: During a traffic stop, an officer may order the driver out of the vehicle:
- Only if the driver is suspected of a felony
- As a matter of course, without any additional justification (Correct answer)
- Only with the driver's consent
- Only if backup officers are present
Correct 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.
Police Officer Search and Seizure 2
A suspect freely and voluntarily agrees to let an officer search his apartment.
The officer finds drugs.
Which warrant exception applies?