Question 1

A law enforcement officer's authority to frisk is limited and narrowly drawn.

Accepted Answer

According to the Fourth Amendment, a law enforcement officer's authority to frisk is limited to situations where there is reasonable suspicion that the person being frisked is armed and dangerous. This authority is narrowly drawn and must be based on specific and articulable facts.

Question 2

Officer Brewer stops a vehicle because it does not have brake lights. However, he is using this reason for a traffic stop because he believes the subjects in the vehicle may be involved in illegal activity involving drugs and wants to check them out. Which of the following most accurately describes this scenario?

Accepted Answer

This is a pretextual stop, as the officer is using a minor traffic infraction as a pretext to investigate for suspected illegal activity. While it may not be illegal, it raises concerns about the officer's motivations for the stop.

Question 3

The initial stages of a frisk must be limited to _____.

Accepted Answer

The initial stages of a frisk must be limited to a pat-down of the outer clothing. This is to ensure officer safety and detect any concealed weapons or other dangerous items. The officer must have reasonable suspicion to believe that the individual is involved in criminal activity to perform a frisk, which is a limited search for weapons. The search of pockets or other 'holding' devices must have additional justification or probable cause. Strip searches are even more invasive and require a higher level of justification.

Question 4

An officer who observes a blown taillight, cracked windshield, or failure to signal when changing lanes may stop a vehicle even if a hypothetical "reasonable officer" would not have been motivated by a desire to enforce the traffic laws.

Accepted Answer

This is based on the legal concept of "reasonable suspicion" which allows officers to stop a vehicle if they have a reasonable belief that a crime or traffic violation has occurred, even if that belief turns out to be incorrect. The Supreme Court has held that an officer's subjective motivation for the stop is not relevant as long as there is objective justification for it based on the officer's observations.

Question 5

In the case of United States v. Place, the courts ruled that seizure of a suspect's luggage suspected of containing drugs for approximately _____ in order to transport the luggage to another airport for a canine sniff was excessive.

Accepted Answer

In United States v. Place (1983), the Supreme Court ruled that the ninety-minute detention of luggage without probable cause was excessive, emphasizing the importance of respecting Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures.

Question 6

An investigative detention may last as long as the officer feels necessary.

Accepted Answer

An investigative detention, also known as a Terry stop, must be brief and last no longer than is necessary to accomplish the purpose of the stop, which is to investigate suspicious behavior. The duration of the stop should be no longer than necessary to determine the individual's identity and any potential risk they may pose. If an officer exceeds the time needed to investigate and hold the individual, it can be considered a violation of their Fourth Amendment rights.

Question 7

The USA Patriot Act has broadened the government's power to detain individuals within the United States for long periods of time on apparently nothing more than reasonable suspicion once such persons have been classified by the U.S. government as an enemy combatant.

Accepted Answer

The USA Patriot Act does provide for the detention of individuals classified as enemy combatants without trial or access to courts based on reasonable suspicion.

Question 8

The police may conduct a checkpoint for general law enforcement purposes.

Accepted Answer

The Supreme Court has ruled that police checkpoints for the purpose of general crime control are unconstitutional. Checkpoints must have a specific purpose, such as DUI checks, and cannot be used for general law enforcement purposes.

Question 9

An anonymous tip that a particular person at a particular location is dealing drugs is not, without more information, sufficient to justify law enforcement officers in stopping and frisking that person.

Accepted Answer

According to the Supreme Court's decision in Terry v. Ohio, an anonymous tip must be accompanied by other corroborating facts in order to justify a stop and frisk. Simply receiving an anonymous tip about drug dealing is not enough.

Question 10

If a show of authority by a law enforcement officer does not result in a halting or submission by the person being confronted, it is still considered a seizure under the Fourth Amendment.

Accepted Answer

For an action to be considered a seizure under the Fourth Amendment, there must be either physical force or a submission to the show of authority by the person being confronted. If the person does not halt or submit, then, under the legal definition, a seizure has not occurred.

Question 11

When a court must consider whether a particular seizure or frisk is reasonable or unreasonable, the court considers the inquiry from which perspective?

Accepted Answer

The court considers the inquiry from the perspective of a reasonable person, not from the perspective of the citizen or the individual officer involved in the seizure or frisk. The standard of reasonableness is objective and based on the facts and circumstances surrounding the particular case.

Question 12

Relying on the plain view doctrine, the Minnesota v. Dickerson ruling stated that officers could seize non-threatening contraband, such as drugs, if its identity as contraband is immediately apparent to the sense of touch. What is this exception more commonly known as?

Accepted Answer

The exception is commonly known as the plain touch exception, as the officer can seize contraband based on the immediate sense of touch. The other options listed are not accurate descriptions of this exception.

Question 13

Which of the following most accurately describes a police initiated action that relies solely on the race, ethnicity, or national origin of a person and not his or her behavior?

Accepted Answer

Racial profiling is the practice of police targeting individuals for suspicion of a crime based solely on their race, ethnicity, or national origin, rather than any behavior or specific evidence of the crime. It is a form of discrimination and is often illegal. Pretextual stops, authoritative pretexts, and bias-based traffic control all involve using a minor or unrelated infraction as an excuse to initiate a stop or search, but may not necessarily involve racial profiling.

Question 14

An officer stops a person travelling in their car based on reasonable suspicion. The officer requests that the person step out of the vehicle and the person complies. The officer immediately notices a tattoo on the arm of the person that is common among members of a particular gang in the area known to engage in violence toward officers, thus giving the officer reasonable suspicion to believe the person may be armed. The officer has not secured the person. At this point the officer is legally permitted to:

Accepted Answer

The officer is legally permitted to frisk the person based on reasonable suspicion, but cannot search any part of the vehicle without a warrant or consent. However, the officer can search any part of the passenger compartment where a weapon could be kept, as this is within the scope of the frisk for officer safety. Searching the locked trunk would require a warrant or consent.

Question 15

As the delay between the development of reasonable suspicion on the part of the officer and the actual stop grows longer, courts may find that the suspicion has "evaporated."

Accepted Answer

Courts have held that if there is an unreasonable delay between the development of reasonable suspicion and the actual stop, the suspicion may no longer be considered reasonable and can be deemed to have "evaporated."

Question 16

The Fourth Amendment does not govern seizures of the person which do not eventuate in a trip to the station house and a formal arrest at the station house.

Accepted Answer

The Fourth Amendment governs seizures of the person, including those that do not result in a trip to the station house or a formal arrest, as it protects against unreasonable searches and seizures by the government.

Question 17

The United State Supreme Court has ruled that an officer may rely on their own experience and specialized training to establish reasonable suspicion that might not be available to an untrained person.

Accepted Answer

This is based on the Supreme Court case of United States v. Arvizu, in which the court ruled that an officer may use their specialized training and experience to establish reasonable suspicion, even if a civilian without such training would not have the same reasonable suspicion.

Question 18

Based on the totality of circumstances, which of the following factors is not generally considered in an inquiry determining whether or not a "seizure" has occurred?

Accepted Answer

The primary factors considered in determining whether a "seizure" has occurred include whether the officer displayed a weapon, the number of officers present, and the language and tone used by the officer. Whether the officer was undercover or in uniform is generally not a determining factor in assessing whether a seizure has occurred.

Question 19

An officer observes an individual leaving a place the officer believes to be a drug house. As the officer approaches, the man makes furtive gestures, reacts nervously, and changes course quickly before the officer yells out for the man to stop. The man stops. The man is carrying a locked case. Given this scenario, select the true statement.

Accepted Answer

The officer has reasonable suspicion based on the man's behavior and his leaving a suspected drug house to temporarily detain the man and his locked case for further investigation, such as having a drug canine sniff the case. However, the officer does not have probable cause to immediately search the case without a warrant or the man's consent.

Question 20

During the initial stages of a frisk, an officer feels a soft object about the size of a quarter in the suspect's coat pocket. Realizing that it is not a weapon and unable to conclude that the item is contraband, courts have ruled that without further probable cause the officer should:

Accepted Answer

The officer should cease and desist with the search once he realizes that the object felt is not a weapon and without probable cause to believe that it is contraband. The Fourth Amendment protects individuals from unreasonable searches and seizures, and courts have ruled that a frisk should only be for weapons or contraband. Feeling a soft object the size of a quarter does not provide sufficient probable cause to continue with the search.

Quiz 8: Stops and Frisks