TCOLE Arrest, Search, and Seizure 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under Texas law, which standard is required before an officer may conduct a warrantless arrest for a Class B misdemeanor committed outside the officer's presence?
- Reasonable suspicion only
- Probable cause plus a supervisory directive
- The offense must have been committed in the officer's presence (Correct answer)
- A sworn civilian complaint
Correct answer: The offense must have been committed in the officer's presence
Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 14.01 requires that a misdemeanor be committed in the officer's presence or view for a warrantless arrest.
Question 2: The 'automobile exception' to the warrant requirement allows officers to search a vehicle without a warrant when:
- The vehicle is in a public parking lot
- There is probable cause to believe the vehicle contains contraband or evidence of a crime (Correct answer)
- The driver is under arrest regardless of circumstances
- The vehicle has an expired registration
Correct answer: There is probable cause to believe the vehicle contains contraband or evidence of a crime
The automobile exception, established in Carroll v. United States, permits a warrantless vehicle search when probable cause exists to believe it contains contraband or evidence.
Question 3: A magistrate's warrant must particularly describe the place to be searched primarily to:
- Limit the search to only what is named in the warrant (Correct answer)
- Allow officers to search adjacent properties
- Speed up the investigation process
- Protect the officer from civil liability
Correct answer: Limit the search to only what is named in the warrant
The particularity requirement of the Fourth Amendment prevents general, exploratory searches by confining officers to the specific place and items named in the warrant.
Question 4: During a lawful traffic stop, an officer may order passengers out of the vehicle:
- Only if the passengers are suspected of a crime
- As a routine safety measure without additional justification (Correct answer)
- Only with the driver's consent
- Only if a felony is suspected
Correct answer: As a routine safety measure without additional justification
Maryland v. Wilson extended Pennsylvania v. Mimms, holding officers may order passengers out of a stopped vehicle as a routine safety precaution.
Question 5: The 'plain view' doctrine permits warrantless seizure of evidence when all of the following are met EXCEPT:
- The officer is lawfully present at the location
- The incriminating nature of the item is immediately apparent
- The officer has a reasonable belief the item is contraband
- The item was deliberately hidden by the suspect (Correct answer)
Correct answer: The item was deliberately hidden by the suspect
Plain view requires lawful presence, immediately apparent incriminating character, and lawful access to the object — deliberate concealment by the suspect is not a required element.
Question 6: In Texas, an arrest warrant is presumed invalid if it lacks which of the following?
- The suspect's photograph
- A sworn affidavit establishing probable cause (Correct answer)
- The arresting officer's badge number
- A list of potential witnesses
Correct answer: A sworn affidavit establishing probable cause
Texas CCP Art. 15.05 requires that an arrest warrant be supported by a sworn affidavit showing probable cause or it is void.
Question 7: Which exception to the exclusionary rule allows evidence to be admitted if officers relied in good faith on a warrant later found to be defective?
- Inevitable discovery
- Independent source
- Good faith exception (Correct answer)
- Harmless error doctrine
Correct answer: Good faith exception
The good faith exception, established in United States v. Leon, allows evidence obtained by officers who reasonably relied on a facially valid but defective warrant.
TCOLE Arrest, Search, and Seizure 2
Under Texas law, which standard is required before an officer may conduct a warrantless arrest for a Class B misdemeanor committed outside the officer's presence?