TCOLE Arrest, Search, and Seizure 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A search incident to arrest is constitutionally justified primarily to:
- Locate all personal property of the arrestee for safekeeping
- Remove weapons and prevent destruction of evidence (Correct answer)
- Conduct a complete inventory of the suspect's belongings
- Comply with department policy regardless of safety need
Correct answer: Remove weapons and prevent destruction of evidence
Chimel v. California established that a search incident to arrest is limited to the area within the arrestee's immediate control to remove weapons and prevent evidence destruction.
Question 2: Under the 'inevitable discovery' doctrine, unlawfully obtained evidence may still be admitted at trial if:
- The defense fails to object in time
- The prosecution proves the evidence would have been discovered through independent lawful means (Correct answer)
- The officer acted in subjective good faith
- The judge finds the violation was minor
Correct answer: The prosecution proves the evidence would have been discovered through independent lawful means
Nix v. Williams established that evidence is admissible if the prosecution demonstrates by a preponderance that it inevitably would have been discovered through lawful investigative means.
Question 3: A drug-detection dog alert on the exterior of a lawfully stopped vehicle:
- Requires a warrant before the vehicle interior may be searched
- Provides probable cause to search the vehicle without a warrant (Correct answer)
- Only justifies searching the trunk of the vehicle
- Must be corroborated by a second dog alert
Correct answer: Provides probable cause to search the vehicle without a warrant
Illinois v. Caballes held that a dog sniff of a vehicle's exterior during a lawful stop does not implicate the Fourth Amendment, and a positive alert provides probable cause to search.
Question 4: In Texas, which article of the Code of Criminal Procedure governs the issuance of search warrants?
- Article 2.13
- Article 14.01
- Article 18.01 (Correct answer)
- Article 38.23
Correct answer: Article 18.01
Texas CCP Chapter 18 (Art. 18.01 et seq.) governs search warrants, including the requirements for issuance, execution, and return.
Question 5: The exclusionary rule established in Mapp v. Ohio applies to:
- Federal courts only
- State courts only
- Both federal and state courts (Correct answer)
- Military tribunals exclusively
Correct answer: Both federal and state courts
Mapp v. Ohio (1961) incorporated the exclusionary rule to the states via the Fourteenth Amendment, making it applicable in both federal and state courts.
Question 6: An officer who stops a vehicle for a traffic violation and develops independent probable cause may:
- Only issue the traffic citation and must let the vehicle go
- Extend the stop and conduct a search consistent with that probable cause (Correct answer)
- Arrest the driver only with supervisory approval
- Search the vehicle only if the driver is issued a citation
Correct answer: Extend the stop and conduct a search consistent with that probable cause
When an officer develops independent probable cause during a lawful traffic stop, the scope of the encounter may be extended to pursue that new basis for investigation.
Question 7: Which of the following is NOT a recognized exception to the warrant requirement?
- Consent
- Plain view
- Search incident to arrest
- Investigative hunch based on officer experience alone (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Investigative hunch based on officer experience alone
An officer's investigative hunch, without articulable facts, does not constitute a recognized exception to the Fourth Amendment's warrant requirement.
TCOLE Arrest, Search, and Seizure 4
A search incident to arrest is constitutionally justified primarily to: