Deck 3: Search and Seizure

Question 1

Persons crossing the national border or other functional equivalents are not protected by the Fourth Amendment.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

A "search" within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment refers only to a physical penetration of someone's person or property.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

A magistrate's finding of probable cause may not be based on hearsay evidence.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Increases in drug trafficking over the last few decades gave rise to a number of state courts approving anticipatory search warrants where probable cause does not have to exist until the warrant is executed.

Question 5

Police must first obtain a warrant before conducting a search of a person's home, even if the homeowner consents to a warrantless search.

Question 6

The protections of the Fourth Amendment apply only to a person's home and not to other types of structures.

Question 7

Police may search a home without a warrant when the homeowner is arrested on the front lawn.

Question 8

Police may make a warrantless seizure of incriminating evidence when they are lawfully in an area and that evidence is in plain view.

Question 9

Which of the following often qualifies as a permissible warrantless search?

A) a search of a suspect's person incident to a lawful arrest
B) a search of an automobile based on probable cause
C) a "pat-down" search of a person based on reasonable suspicion
D) All of these

Question 10

For a search to be valid under the Fourth Amendment, police officers must have "probable cause," or in certain instances "reasonable suspicion" to believe that a particular search will produce evidence of crime.

Question 11

Police in hot pursuit of a fleeing suspect may not pursue that suspect into a protected place, such as a home, without having to wait until a warrant can be obtained.

Question 12

The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution has been extended to searches and seizures conducted by state and local law enforcement officers.

Question 13

Although the Fourth Amendment refers to "houses," its protections are extended to stores, offices and places of business.

Question 14

A tip from a confidential informant can give rise to probable cause to obtain a search warrant.

Question 15

Police must have "probable cause" before subjecting a suspicious person to a "stop-and-frisk."

Question 16

Any means of invading a person's reasonable expectation of privacy is considered a "search" within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment.

Question 17

The Fourth Amendment was adopted to limit searches and seizures by both national and state officials.

Question 18

The Fourth Amendment applies to all premises and property, even premises and property that have been abandoned.

Question 19

The Fourth Amendment contains a provision expressly prohibiting the use of evidence obtained through an unreasonable search and seizure.

Question 20

Courts have approved properly established and conducted sobriety checkpoints where all drivers passing a certain point are stopped briefly and checked for signs of intoxication.

Question 21

Which one of the following statements is INCORRECT?

A) Constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures are not violated by police who make warrantless entries and searches when the police have a reasonable basis to believe that an occupant within a house is in immediate need of aid.
B) Police who seek to conduct a warrantless search must first advise a person that he or she has the right to refuse to consent to such a search.
C) The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the Fourth Amendment does not restrict searches and seizures conducted by United States agents of a nonresident's property located in a foreign country.
D) Courts often excuse compliance with the "knock and announce" requirement when to require strict adherence would endanger the lives of the officers or provide an occasion for occupants to dispose of evidence.

Question 22

In United States v. Jacobsen (1984), the Supreme Court held that the Fourth Amendment "is ______________ to a search or seizure … effected by a private individual not acting as an agent of the Government or with the participation or knowledge of any government official."

A) wholly inapplicable
B) wholly applicable
C) partially applicable
D) None of these

Question 23

The Fourth Amendment does not apply to property that has been ____________.

A) sold
B) rented
C) abandoned
D) None of these

Question 24

Which of the following doctrines would permit a police officer to seize contraband discovered on the floor of an apartment during a valid emergency search?

A) plain view
B) reasonable expectation of privacy
C) curtilage
D) good faith

Question 25

Routine searches of persons and automobiles crossing ___________ are not prohibited by the Fourth Amendment.

A) state lines
B) county lines
C) the borders of the United States
D) city boundaries

Question 26

The Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure require that a search warrant must be executed within _______ days after it is issued.

A) one hundred
B) fifty
C) thirty
D) ten

Question 27

To invoke the Fourth Amendment exclusionary rule, a person must have _________.

A) U.S. citizenship
B) standing
C) not been in possession of contraband or evidence of crime when searched
D) no prior criminal convictions

Question 28

In a famous debate in 1761, James Otis called the ____________ "the worst instrument of arbitrary power, the most destructive of English liberty and the fundamental principles of law that ever was found in an English law book."

A) exclusionary rule
B) Stamp Act
C) Writs of Assistance
D) Star Chamber

Question 29

In Illinois v. Rodriguez (1990), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the test to be applied in determining whether a third-party consent to search is valid is ____________________.

A) based on the relationship of the third party giving consent to the party whose premises are searched
B) the degree of dominion and control exercised by the third party over the searched premises
C) the police officer's subjective belief that the third party has the authority to grant consent to a search of the premises
D) whether the third party giving consent has some ownership interest in the searched premises

Question 30

The ______________ is justified by the need to deter police misconduct, but it exacts a high price to society in that "the criminal is to go free because the constable has blundered."

A) right to counsel
B) prohibition against double jeopardy
C) exclusionary rule
D) the police deception rule

Question 31

In ________________ (1914), the U.S. Supreme Court first held that evidence obtained through an unlawful search and seizure could not be used to convict a person of a federal crime.

A) Weeks v. United States
B) Wolf v. United States
C) Mapp v. United States
D) United States v. Leon

Question 32

A ___________ is a device that allows the police to learn every number dialed from a specifically targeted telephone.

A) spike mike
B) pen register
C) digital display pager
D) random enumerator

Question 33

The Fourth Amendment protects a person's rights against the police, but generally does not apply to searches and seizures conducted by _____________.

A) private citizens
B) private employers
C) private security personnel
D) any of these

Question 34

In conducting a warrantless search incident to a lawful arrest, police may search the person being arrested and the area ____________.

A) under person's ownership
B) within that person's normal sphere of activity
C) within that person's immediate control
D) None of these

Question 35

The ______________ doctrine holds that evidence derived from other evidence that is obtained through an illegal search or seizure is itself inadmissible.

A) inevitable discovery
B) independent source
C) suspension of disbelief
D) fruit of the poisonous tree

Question 36

When evaluating applications for search warrants based on tips from confidential or anonymous informants, magistrates must consider the __________.

A) suspect's arrest record
B) informant's arrest record
C) seriousness of the crime being investigated
D) totality of circumstances

Question 37

The U.S. Supreme Court has recognized a limited ________ exception to the Fourth Amendment exclusionary rule.

A) probable cause
B) reasonable suspicion
C) national security
D) good-faith

Question 38

Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 limits ________ without a court order unless one party to the conversation consents.

A) interception of electronic communications
B) entrapment
C) the use of force by police
D) aerial photography

Question 39

Which one of the following statements is incorrect?

A) By far the most significant English case in the area of search and seizure prior to the American Revolution was Entick v. Carrington (1775).
B) The USA PATRIOT Act permits federal magistrate judges in any district in which terrorism-related activities may have occurred to issue search warrants for searches within or outside the district.
C) Federal law permits courts to issue wiretap orders for indefinite periods of time.
D) Courts have generally disapproved of blanket policies that allow strip searches of all persons who have been arrested, particularly where traffic violators are concerned.

Question 40

The judicial extension of the Fourth Amendment and other protections of the Bill of Rights to limit the actions of the state and local governments is referred to as the doctrine of ________.

A) res judicata
B) incorporation
C) extensión
D) absorption

Question 41

Although the Fourth Amendment refers to "persons, houses, papers and effects," its protections are extended to _______________.

A) places of business
B) open fields
C) abandoned property
D) all of these

Question 42

Completion:
12. In ________________ (1967), the Supreme Court abandoned the trespass doctrine, saying "the Fourth Amendment protects people, not places."

Question 43

Completion:
In United States v. Grubbs (2006), the U.S. Supreme Court held that ____________search warrants do not contravene the Fourth Amendment.

Question 44

Completion:
A person who seeks the benefits of the exclusionary rule must have ________ to invoke the rule.

Question 45

Completion:
For hundreds of years, English subjects (and, later, American colonists) were subjected to the abuse of the ______________, that is, a warrant authorizing searches of unspecified persons and places.

Question 46

Completion:
At common law, the concept of _______ was developed to afford the area immediately surrounding a house the same protection under the law of burglary as was afforded the house itself.

Question 47

Completion:
The term __________ refers to the taking into custody of physical evidence, property, or even a person

Question 48

Completion:
The Fourth Amendment expresses a preference for searches and seizures to be conducted pursuant to a warrant, which in turn must be supported by ____________.

Question 49

Completion:
_________ searches are justified by the need for protection of the owner's property while the vehicle remains in police custody, protection of the police from claims of lost property, and the need to protect the police from potential dangers that might be lurking inside closed automobiles.

Question 50

Which one of the following statements concerning automobile inventory searches is INCORRECT?

A) When conducted according to standard police procedures, an inventory search of an automobile legally impounded by the police is generally regarded as an administrative search not subject to ordinary Fourth Amendment requirements.
B) Inventory searches are justified by the need to protect a vehicle owner's property while the vehicle is in police custody, as well as the need to protect the police against false claims of stolen property.
C) If a routine inventory search yields evidence of crime, it may be seized and admitted into evidence without violating the Fourth Amendment.
D) When investigating crime, police may conduct an inventory search of any vehicle parked in a public parking space that has been legally ticketed for overtime parking.

Question 51

Completion:
For the purposes of the Fourth Amendment, a ________ occurs when government agents look for evidence in a manner that intrudes into a person's legally protected zone of privacy.

Question 52

Completion:
For a search to be reasonable under the Fourth Amendment police generally must have _______ to believe that a search will produce evidence of crime.

Question 53

Completion:
In determining whether the Fourth Amendment applies to a particular situation, courts employ a twofold requirement: first whether a person has exhibited a subjective expectation of privacy and, second, whether the expectation is one that society recognizes as "_____________."

Question 54

Completion:
Local ordinances allow for routine inspections to enforce building codes and other regulations. The Supreme Court has recognized these ____________ searches as exceptions to normal Fourth Amendment protections.

Question 55

Completion:
When conducted according to standard police procedures, an ____________ of an impounded vehicle is not subject to ordinary Fourth Amendment requirements.

Question 56

Completion:
It must be noted that the ____________ exception to the exclusionary rule applies only in cases where police officers rely on warrants that are later held to be invalid; it does not apply to warrantless searches.

Question 57

Completion:
To obtain a search warrant, agents submit an __________ to a judge or magistrate who must then determine whether the stated facts support the issuance of the warrant.

Question 58

The good-faith exception to the Fourth Amendment exclusionary rule recognized in United States v. Leon (1984) does not apply to cases where ___________________________________.

A) The magistrate was misled by an affidavit that the affiant knew was false or would have known was false except for reckless disregard for the truth.
B) The affidavit is utterly lacking in indicia of probable cause
C) The warrant is so facially deficient that the executing officer cannot reasonably presume its validity.
D) Any of these

Question 59

Completion:
The Supreme Court's current approach to the exclusionary rule is to grant __________ only to those persons who have a possessory or legitimate privacy interest in the place that was searched.

Question 60

Completion:
Courts say police officers are to determine probable cause as a commonsense, practical question in light of the _____________ in a given case.

Question 61

Three college students who attend a public university share an apartment in Collegetown, USA. Police have heard that three members of the local college's varsity swim team live there and have all recently failed university-administered drug tests. Police show up at the apartment hoping they can acquire to consent to enter. As they approach the apartment, police see that the landlord is standing outside the door. Police ask the landlord to let them in. The landlord, who is a lawyer, refuses, citing the Supreme Court's decision in Chapman v. United States. Irritated, police instead knock on the door. One resident of the apartment is there and allows police to enter. In a common area, police find drug paraphernalia and a small amount of cocaine. They seize this evidence. Just then, a second resident of the home enters and tells police to leave immediately. They do leave, but take the evidence with them.
The student who allowed the police to enter could validly consent to a search of common areas in the home. This statement is:

A) valid as long as there is mutual use of this area and the person consenting has joint access or control.
B) is improper because all three students would have to consent for a search to occur.
C) is improper because a majority of students (at least two of three) would have to consent for a search to occur.
D) is improper because only the landlord can consent to a search of this apartment.

Question 62

Completion:
In 1984 the Supreme Court created a _____________ exception to the exclusionary rule where the police officer who conducted a search relied on the validity of a search warrant, even though it was later determined that the magistrate erred in finding probable cause to issue the warrant.

Question 63

Critical Thinking:
A local police department suspects that three individuals, Alvin, Simon, and Theodore, are growing marijuana on their property and selling it around town. The officers, though, do not have probable cause to obtain a warrant. As a result, the officers begin discussing some creative avenues for acquiring information about these individuals and their activities. A rookie officer who majored in Political Science in college offers three options: 1) looking through trash left outside of the suspects' home; 2) flying over the suspects' backyard and using standard binoculars to search for marijuana plants; and 3) using a newly developed piece of equipment that can scan the suspects' house and detect the presence of large quantities of organic plants. Answer the following questions about these options.
Which of these options is most likely to be deemed unconstitutional?

A) Option 1
B) Option 2
C) Option 3
D) Options 1 and 2

Question 64

Critical Thinking:
A local police department suspects that three individuals, Alvin, Simon, and Theodore, are growing marijuana on their property and selling it around town. The officers, though, do not have probable cause to obtain a warrant. As a result, the officers begin discussing some creative avenues for acquiring information about these individuals and their activities. A rookie officer who majored in Political Science in college offers three options: 1) looking through trash left outside of the suspects' home; 2) flying over the suspects' backyard and using standard binoculars to search for marijuana plants; and 3) using a newly developed piece of equipment that can scan the suspects' house and detect the presence of large quantities of organic plants. Answer the following questions about these options.
Which of these Supreme Court cases has direct implications for Option 1?

A) California v. Greenwood
B) Kyllo v. United States
C) Herring v. United States
D) United States v. Ross

Question 65

Completion:
The _____________ Act enables law enforcement to access Internet communications, expands the authority for use of pen registers and trap-and-trace surveillance, and allows federal courts to issue "roving" surveillance orders in connection with foreign intelligence matters.

Question 66

Completion:
The ____________ was judicially created to prohibit the use of illegally obtained evidence in a criminal prosecution of a person whose rights were violated by the police in obtaining that evidence.

Question 67

Critical Thinking:
A local police department suspects that three individuals, Alvin, Simon, and Theodore, are growing marijuana on their property and selling it around town. The officers, though, do not have probable cause to obtain a warrant. As a result, the officers begin discussing some creative avenues for acquiring information about these individuals and their activities. A rookie officer who majored in Political Science in college offers three options: 1) looking through trash left outside of the suspects' home; 2) flying over the suspects' backyard and using standard binoculars to search for marijuana plants; and 3) using a newly developed piece of equipment that can scan the suspects' house and detect the presence of large quantities of organic plants. Answer the following questions about these options.
The Supreme Court's decision in Kyllo v. United States has implications for which option?

A) Option 1
B) Option 2
C) Option 3
D) None of the options

Question 68

Critical Thinking:
A local police department suspects that three individuals, Alvin, Simon, and Theodore, are growing marijuana on their property and selling it around town. The officers, though, do not have probable cause to obtain a warrant. As a result, the officers begin discussing some creative avenues for acquiring information about these individuals and their activities. A rookie officer who majored in Political Science in college offers three options: 1) looking through trash left outside of the suspects' home; 2) flying over the suspects' backyard and using standard binoculars to search for marijuana plants; and 3) using a newly developed piece of equipment that can scan the suspects' house and detect the presence of large quantities of organic plants. Answer the following questions about these options.
The act of placing a GPS locator on the rear bumper of the car and conducting surveillance on its movements is:

A) acceptable behavior without a warrant because the car is in "plain view"
B) a violation of the Fourth Amendment according to the decision in U.S. v. Jones
C) acceptable behavior without a warrant under the "exigent circumstance" doctrine
D) permitted under the 4th Amendment according to the decision in U.S. v. Jones

Question 69

Critical Thinking:
A local police department suspects that three individuals, Alvin, Simon, and Theodore, are growing marijuana on their property and selling it around town. The officers, though, do not have probable cause to obtain a warrant. As a result, the officers begin discussing some creative avenues for acquiring information about these individuals and their activities. A rookie officer who majored in Political Science in college offers three options: 1) looking through trash left outside of the suspects' home; 2) flying over the suspects' backyard and using standard binoculars to search for marijuana plants; and 3) using a newly developed piece of equipment that can scan the suspects' house and detect the presence of large quantities of organic plants. Answer the following questions about these options.
If the police had probable cause suggesting that these three individuals were growing and selling marijuana in their home, then which of the following would be true:

A) Police could forcibly enter the home without a warrant
B) Police would likely be granted a search warrant by a magistrate
C) Police could break into a parked car in the home's driveway and execute a search without a warrant
D) All of the above are true

Question 70

Three college students who attend a public university share an apartment in Collegetown, USA. Police have heard that three members of the local college's varsity swim team live there and have all recently failed university-administered drug tests. Police show up at the apartment hoping they can acquire to consent to enter. As they approach the apartment, police see that the landlord is standing outside the door. Police ask the landlord to let them in. The landlord, who is a lawyer, refuses, citing the Supreme Court's decision in Chapman v. United States. Irritated, police instead knock on the door. One resident of the apartment is there and allows police to enter. In a common area, police find drug paraphernalia and a small amount of cocaine. They seize this evidence. Just then, a second resident of the home enters and tells police to leave immediately. They do leave, but take the evidence with them.
The drug testing of these athletes by a public university is likely to be:

A) ruled unconstitutional as a violation of the athletes' 4th Amendment rights
B) upheld based on Supreme Court precedent
C) acceptable only if a warrant is obtained before testing is administered
D) seen as providing probable cause for the search of the students' apartment

Question 71

Critical Thinking:
A local police department suspects that three individuals, Alvin, Simon, and Theodore, are growing marijuana on their property and selling it around town. The officers, though, do not have probable cause to obtain a warrant. As a result, the officers begin discussing some creative avenues for acquiring information about these individuals and their activities. A rookie officer who majored in Political Science in college offers three options: 1) looking through trash left outside of the suspects' home; 2) flying over the suspects' backyard and using standard binoculars to search for marijuana plants; and 3) using a newly developed piece of equipment that can scan the suspects' house and detect the presence of large quantities of organic plants. Answer the following questions about these options.
Assume that the traffic stop on the student's return trip had in fact been a valid one. Further assume that an officer legitimately smells marijuana. Evaluate all of the statements below and determine which is true.

A) The officer could conduct a search of the vehicle because the odor of marijuana provides the necessary probable cause, but could not search a closed backpack.
B) The officer could search a closed backpack sitting on the backseat because the Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Ross permits a comprehensive search of a vehicle's contents when probable cause exists.
C) After smelling marijuana, the officer needs to call a judge to obtain a warrant before search any part of the vehicle, as declared in the Supreme Court's decision in Kyllo v. United States
D) All statements are false.

Question 72

Critical Thinking:
A local police department suspects that three individuals, Alvin, Simon, and Theodore, are growing marijuana on their property and selling it around town. The officers, though, do not have probable cause to obtain a warrant. As a result, the officers begin discussing some creative avenues for acquiring information about these individuals and their activities. A rookie officer who majored in Political Science in college offers three options: 1) looking through trash left outside of the suspects' home; 2) flying over the suspects' backyard and using standard binoculars to search for marijuana plants; and 3) using a newly developed piece of equipment that can scan the suspects' house and detect the presence of large quantities of organic plants. Answer the following questions about these options.
An officer's act of visually inspecting the inside of the car at a DUI checkpoint is:

A) a violation of the Fourth Amendment, according to Supreme Court precedent
B) a violation of the 2nd Amendment, according to Supreme Court precedent
C) not a unconstitutional, according to Supreme Court precedent
D) only acceptable with a warrant, according to Supreme Court precedent

Question 73

Three college students who attend a public university share an apartment in Collegetown, USA. Police have heard that three members of the local college's varsity swim team live there and have all recently failed university-administered drug tests. Police show up at the apartment hoping they can acquire to consent to enter. As they approach the apartment, police see that the landlord is standing outside the door. Police ask the landlord to let them in. The landlord, who is a lawyer, refuses, citing the Supreme Court's decision in Chapman v. United States. Irritated, police instead knock on the door. One resident of the apartment is there and allows police to enter. In a common area, police find drug paraphernalia and a small amount of cocaine. They seize this evidence. Just then, a second resident of the home enters and tells police to leave immediately. They do leave, but take the evidence with them.
The landlord's refusal to grant police access to the apartment was:

A) an incorrect application of Chapman v. United States.
B) correct in principle, but cited the wrong case.
C) only valid because somebody was home.
D) in fact consistent with appropriate Supreme Court case law.