Issue One: Fourth Amendment Applicability

Question 1

Four Key questions to Consider whether the fourth amendment governs the search and seizure

Answer 1

1. Was the search or sezirue exectued by government agent
2. was the search of an a area or item protected by the fourth amendment
3. did a government agent (a) physically intrude on a protected area or item to obtain information; or (b) violate an individual’s reasonable expectation of privacy in a protected area or item?
4. Did the individual subjected to the search or seizure have standing to chanllenge the govenrment agent’s conduct

Question 2

Was search conducted by a government agent

Answer 2

If Yes, then move onto question 2.

Categories of Government Agent:

• Publicly paid police, on or off duty
• Private citizens if they are acting at the direction of the police
• Private security guards only if htey are deputized with power to arrest (campus security at public univiersities)
• Public school administrators

Question 3

Was the search of a protected area or item?

Answer 3

• **Protected Areas **
  
  • Persons
  • Houses (includes hotel rooms)
    
    • includes the curtilage which is the area adjacent to the home to hwich the activity of home life extends
  • Papers (correspondeance) AND
  • Effects

Question 4

Unprotected Items

Answer 4

Sufficiently public b/c they have knowing exposure to third parties.

PAAGVOHO

• Paint scapings on the outside of your car
• Account records held by a bank
• Airspace–anything that can be seen below when flying in public airspace
• Garbage left at curb for collection
• Sound of your Voice
• Odors such as those that emanate from your car or luggage (drug sniffing dogs)
• handwriting
• open fields/anything that can be seen in them

Question 5

did a government agent (a) physically intrude on a protected area or item to obtain information; or (b) violate an individual’s reasonable expectation of privacy in a protected area or item?

Answer 5

Two ways:

1. Agent physicall intruded on a constitutionally protected area in order to obtain information (e.g. putting a GPS tracker on car) OR
2. Violates an indviduals reasonable expection of privacy. Must show:
   
   1. an actual or subjective expection of privacy in the area searched or items seized: AND
   2. the privacy expectionat was one that society recognizes as reasonable
      
      1. police search presumptively unreasonabe when uses a device that is not in public use to explore details of the home that officers could not have known without phys intrusion (thermal imaging device)

Question 6

Did the individual subjected to the search or seizure have standing to chanllenge the govenrment agent’s conduct

Answer 6

TO have authority or standing, an individuals personal privacy rights must be invaded. NOT A THIRD PARTY

• Always:
  
  • if they own the premises
  • if they reside in the premises
  • overnight guests in areas that can be expected to access
• Never
  
  • using someone elses area solely for business purposes
  • searches of a car when you are a passenger
• Sometimes
  
  • owned property that resides in an area with a reasoanble epxection of privacy