Search and Seizure

The Fourth Amendment governs arrests.

An arrest must be supported by probable cause.

In some states, a citizen has the power to detain a person who has committed a crime.

A police officer must physically touch a person before he or she is considered under arrest.

A person is under arrest when he or she believes that an arrest has occurred.

The degree of proof needed for probable cause is the same as required to prove a person guilty of the crime.

Probable cause is required when an officer briefly detains a person.

In some situations, a police officer is authorized to actually pat down the outer clothing of an individual he has briefly detained.

There is a preference at law for a warrant over warrantless arrests and seizures.

An officer has a search warrant authorizing seizure of narcotics, but during the search he finds evidence of another crime. He is permitted to seize it, even though it is not mentioned in the search warrant.

The standard that law enforcement must show to justify an arrest:

In which of the following scenarios is probable cause not required?

All of the following are considered to be specific acts that can give rise to probable cause, except:

Danny is an off-duty police officer who sees a man parked outside a closed jewelry store. He has a strong gut feeling that the man is up to something, so he asks the man to step out of his car and cuffs him. Which of the following is true about this scenario?

All of the following are exceptions to the search warrant requirement, except:

Carl is stopped at the U.S. Border between Mexico and the United States. Border Patrol officers become suspicious about his contradictory answers about where he was in Mexico. They ask for consent to search and Carl refuses. The officers inform him that they have a drug-sniffing dog on hand, who can sniff out illegal narcotics. They again ask for consent and Carl again refuses. They bring in the dog who immediately scratches at Carl’s spare tire. This is how the dog indicates the presence of illegal narcotics. They open the tire and find a kilo of cocaine. Is this a valid search?

Police stake out Carl’s house because they suspect that he is growing marijuana under special lights in his basement. They have a special camera that allows them to read the heat signature of these special lights. Carl’s basement shows that such lights are being used. Do they have sufficient probable cause for a search?

A search warrant can become "stale" and no longer legally effective when:

Danny obtains a warrant to search a local warehouse for "any evidence of illegal activity." He discovers some marijuana in an employee’s locker. At trial, the employee challenges the seizure on the grounds that it was unconstitutional. Is it?

Danny stops Carl on the street and asks Carl some questions. Danny doesn’t like Carl’s answers and tells him so. Carl wants to walk away. Can he?