4th Amendment ground rules:
- Court prefers search warrants
- Home receives the highest protection
- No protection for items exposed to public view
- You can go wherever the public can go
- Probably cause alone is never enough to search
Search and seizures clause
- the right of the THE PEOPLE to be secure in their PERSONS, HOUSES, PAPERS, AND EFFECTS, against unreasonable search and seizures, shall not be violated.
Warrants clause
no warrants shall issue, but upon PROBABLE CLAUSE, supported by oath or affirmation, and PARTICULARLY DESCRIBING THE PLACE TO BE SEARCHED, AND THE PERSONS OR THINGS TO BE SEIZED.
what are 3 ways to enter a home?
1) warrant
2) consent
3) warrant exception
search
- a govt. intrusion/entrance into an area where a person has REASONABLE EXPECTATION OF PRIVACY (REP).
- a physical trespass into a constitutionally protected area to obtain information.
what are the legal requirements to search?
- probable cause AND a warrant or warrant exception
can you search a home with only probable cause?
NEVER!!!
what happens to evidence found during an unlawful search?
- exclusionary rule applies
- evidence is inadmissible at trial
who are private actors?
- family
- hotel maid
- bondsmen
- private security
- private mail workers (fedex, ups)
what happens to evidence found by a private actor?
- admissible at trial
warrants for BODY of the suspect:
- above the skin: NO WARRANT NEEDED
- beneath the skin: WARRANT NEEDED
warrants for vehicles:
- exterior: NO WARRANT NEEDED
- interior: WARRANT NEEDED
exterior of vehicle includes:
- license plate #
- vin #
- color/make/model
- undercarriage of vehicle
interior of vehicle includes:
- entering the vehicle
- entering the trunk
- entering containers
- entering other parts of the vehicle
who has REP inside of the vehicle?
- ONLY the driver
who has REP in rentals?
- ONLY the renter can give consent to search
containers with or without REP:
- open containers - NO REP
- closed/opaque containers - REP
curtilage
- the area immediately surround a home where INTIMATE ACTIVITIES of the home are extended to.
- curtilage has REP
open fields
- unoccupied or underdeveloped areas outside of the curtilage
- open fields have NO REP
- DO NOT ENTER structures in the open fields without a warrant, consent, or warrant exception.
Difference between home and curtilage (US vs DUNN):
- proximity to home
- common enclosure (fence)
- how the area is being used
- steps taken to prevent observation
REP for abandoned property:
- throw away property - NO REP
- deny ownership - NO REP
REP for garbage:
- inside home - REP
- outside home on street curb - NO REP
- outside home within curtilage - DEPENDS
are sensory enhancements intrusions?
- depends on whether the enhancement is general public usage and what the enhancement is being used to view.
- ex: binoculars, telescopes, thermal imaging, aerial surveillance
REP for mail:
- outside package of first class mail - NO REP
- inside package of first class mail - REP
- other than first class mail - NO REP
- mail covers - NO REP
- postcards/leaflets - NO REP
- mail detentions - NEED REASONABLE SUSPICION
