Constitutional Law: Search and Seizure Rules in the United States, Exams of Constitutional Law

Download Constitutional Law: Search and Seizure Rules in the United States and more Exams Constitutional Law in PDF only on Docsity! Constitutional Law MPTC Constitutional Law MPTC Containing 105 Questions with Definitive Solutions 2024-2025. (Dark Back Ground for better Visibility and eye Care) 1st Amendment - Answer: Establishes freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition. Constitutional Law MPTC Definition of religion under the 1st amendment - Answer: Citizens have the right to worship a god or supreme being (Or not to hold such beliefs). The government cannot require or force observations or compel citizens to follow any particular religion. Definition of Speech under the 1st amendment - Answer: Protected speech includes spoken and written words, the act of not speaking and symbolic conduct. What are the following types of speech not protected by the 1st amendment. - Answer: Obscenity, fighting words, threats, incendiary speech. 2nd Amendment - Answer: Establishes the right to keep and bear arms. Intended to keep and protect the individual’s right to possess personal firearm for lawful purposes. 4th Amendment - Answer: Prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. Definition of a Search - Answer: Physical invasion or intrusion of privacy by police on people, homes or personal property to obtain info or gather evidence. Definition of a seizure - Answer: When police take possession of property, make an arrest, or restrict a persons ability to move freely. Constitutional Law MPTC Reasonable Suspicion - Answer: Must be based on specific and articulable facts which, when taken together, would convince a person of reasonable caution to believe that a person has committed, is committing, or is about to commit a crime. Probable Cause - Answer: Trustworthy facts and circumstances sufficient to convince a person of reasonable caution to believe that it is more likely than not. Probable Cause - in the case of a search. - Answer: A specific item subject to seizure will be found in the place to be searched. Probable Cause - in the case of an arrest - Answer: A crime has been committed and the person to be arrested has committed it. Collective Knowledge - Answer: Knowledge of one is the knowledge of all. Information held by one may be used to establish reasonable suspicion or probable cause even if not witnessed firsthand by or communicated to the officer making the stop, search, or arrest. Veracity - Answer: Whether the source is reliable or believable Basis of Knowledge - Answer: Is how the source or witness acquired the information Constitutional Law MPTC Specific + Articulable facts - Answer: Area of encounter, Reason for encounter, Officer Training experience, familiarity of defendant, Defendants nervousness or evasive conduct, High crime area Exclusionary Rule - Answer: Makes any evidence obtained by police in a unreasonable search and seizure inadmissible in court. Fruit of the Poisonous Tree - Answer: Any evidence directly derived from the illegal search or evidence found incidental to the unlawful search will, generally speaking, be suppressed. Exclusionary Rule Exceptions - Answer: Attenuation/Purging the taint, Independent source, Defective warrant, Invalid arrest Attenuation/Purging the taint - Answer: When unlawful police action leads indirectly to discovery of evidence or subsequent events reduce the impact of the unlawful action the court may decide that the evidence was so removed from the misconduct that it will not be suppressed. Voluntary Encounters - Answer: Police do not need any legal justification to approach, talk with, or ask questions of any citizens in a public place, so long as the citizen is willing to listen and voluntarily answer. Constitutional Law MPTC Investigative stops/Threshold inquires/Terry stops - Answer: Short duration warrantless seizures used to determine if probable cause exist, specifically if a crime has or will be committed Example of Investigative stops/Threshold inquires/ Terry stops - Answer: When a officer through words or conduct, objectively communicated that the officer will use their police power to coerce the person to stay. I.E - Taking someone's ID, using an authoritative tone, activating lights. Investigative stop/Threshold inquire/Terry stop Limitations - Answer: Degree of force, Duration, Scope, Location, Questioning, and inferences. Moto Vehicle exit orders are justified where: - Answer: Belief that the safety of the officers or other is threatened, Reasonable suspicion of criminal activity, police are conducting a search of MV on other grounds. Frisks - Answer: Warrantless and limited searches of a persons outer clothing and other areas in his immediate control for weapons and not evidence. What is the legal standard needed to justify a frisk? - Answer: Reasonable Suspicion What is the legal standard needed to justify a investigative search? - Answer: Probable Cause Constitutional Law MPTC Search Warrant - Answer: Written documents issued by Massachusetts judicial officials that empower officers to search, without consent and by force if needed, a defined place for people or evidence of a crime. Issuing Authority and jurisdiction of a search warrant - Answer: In Massachusetts this includes Judges, clerk magistrates and assistant clerk magistrates of the superior court and district court. Jurisdiction - Answer: Specific geographical area or territory where a police officer, constable, or other authorized MA official can arrest or serve processes, provided they are in uniform or displaying a badge of office. Application for search warrant needs a detailed affidavit including: - Answer: Statement of probable cause showing property, articles and person to be seized, Detail of premises, detail of property, articles, vehicles, or person to be seized. Probable cause affidavit - Answer: It links people, place, and property identified to specific crimes. Warrant execution requirements - Answer: Must be executed as soon as reasonably possible, and cannot be lawfully executed more than 7 days after issuance. How many days is a warrant lawful for? - Answer: 7 Days Constitutional Law MPTC Knock and Announce - Answer: A police officer executing a search warrant shall knock and announce their presence and purpose before forcibly entering a residence. Police shall not forgo the knock and announce requirement when serving a warrant except? - Answer: To prevent a credible risk of imminent harm No-Knock Warrants are authorized only when? - Answer: Establish probable cause that if officers announce their lives or lives of others will be endangered. Search warrants are to be executed when? - Answer: During the day time unless noted otherwise. What is considered night time when conducting a search warrant - Answer: 10Pm- 6am Anticipatory Search warrant - Answer: A warrant that takes effect at a specific future time and not on its issuance. Any person present - search warrant - Answer: A search warrant can authorize officers to search any person present: however officers must have probable cause that any person present is reasonably involved in the identified criminal activity. Constitutional Law MPTC After you make an arrest without a warrant, and the defendant is not brought to the court. The defendant must see a judicial officer to establish probable cause exist within what time period? - Answer: 24 Hours What are the facts used by police without a warrant to establish probable cause? - Answer: Officer Knowledge, Officer observations, Corroboration of evidence, Victim/witness statements, suspects prior criminal history, suspects confession or admissions, suspects flight or secretive conduct Location of a warrantless arrest - Answer: May be made in a public place What's the exception to a warrantless arrest not in a public place - Answer: May not enter a residence unless they have consent of the homeowner or have existent circumstances Mass police may make a warrantless arrest within their jurisdiction under what circumstances. - Answer: Felony committed in the officers presence, Misdemeanor committed in the officers presence amounting to a breach of the peace, Specific misdemeanors in presence with statutory power if arrest only, Specific misdemeanors with statutory power of arrest on Probable cause. How many powers of arrest are there? - Answer: 5 Detention by merchants - Answer: Can detain a shoplifter in a reasonable manner for not more than a reasonable length of time. Constitutional Law MPTC Actual authority is defined as? - Answer: Person lives in the home with shared access to the home or the person has a written contract that specifically empowers that person to allow officers to search. Apparent authority - Answer: When a officer makes a faulty judgment about someone's actual authority over the home. Mistake must be reasonable. Plain view doctrine - Answer: Allows police to seize evidence of a crime without a search warrant when officers are lawfully present in a place and clearly see items that are contraband or evidence of a crime out in the open. Plain view with special devices - Answer: Binoculars and flashlights, aircrafts may be used if made from lawful navigable airspace using the unaided eye, Police K9 in public areas. Exigent circumstances - Answer: A reasonable likelihood of danger to officers or third parties, imminent removal or destruction of evidence, or a risk of flight by a wanted person. To make entry into a dwelling police officers need what? - Answer: Probable cause and exigent circumstances Emergency aid exception - Answer: Police can enter a home if they believe a person inside is injured or is in imminent danger of physical harm. Constitutional Law MPTC Community caretaker exception - Answer: When the purpose of the police entry is not to gather evidence of criminal activity but rather, because of an emergency , to respond to an immediate need for assistance for the protection of life or property. Inventories - Answer: Not investigative - to safeguard the owners property and protect police from accusations of theft. Officers must follow their department policy. Scope of inventory - Answer: Taking notes of what is received and placing it in safe keeping. Person inventory - Answer: Routine administrative step following arrest and preceding incarceration. Motor vehicle inventory - Answer: Admin step not a search, minimize claims of theft and protect police and public from dangerous items. Also must read department policy. Civil liability - Answer: Potential responsibility for payment of damages or other court-imposed sanctions from a lawsuit. Can be filed for violating a persons constitutional rights. Constitutional Law MPTC Common lawsuits on police officers are? - Answer: False arrest, use of force, malicious prosecution, failure to stop unlawful actions of other officers, officers interfering with someone's constitutional rights i.e videotaping or freedom of speech.