Exceptions to the Warrant Requirement Interactions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Officer Brady hates doing paperwork, and warrants require lots of paperwork. He also hate criminals and want to see one in particular, known locally as Stereo Sam, put away. So shift after shift he sits in his car on the street outside Stereo Sam’s garage, hoping for a glimpse of the stolen goods he believes are being kept there. Sure enough, one lonely Saturday night Officer Brady observes Stereo Sam open his garage door and place 14 car stereos in a pile in the corner. He jumps from his patrol car (accidentally dropping his donut from his lap as he does so) arrests Sam and seizes the evidence. At Stereo Sam’s criminal trial the seized evidence should be:
Choice 1 Excluded, as Sam had a reasonable expectation of privacy in the contents of his garage and Brady did not have a search warrant.
Choice 2 Excluded, as Officer Brady’s hatred of criminals prevented him from being an impartial witness.
Choice 3 Permitted, because Sam’s stolen stereos were in plain view when he voluntarily opened his own garage door.
Choice 4 Permitted, because there is never a reasonable expectation of privacy in one’s garage.
On a warm summer night Officer Dozey is half-asleep in his unmarked police car on Main Street with the windows rolled down to catch to summer breeze. He is alert enough to overheard Cartman and Kyle arguing about who gets to keep the jewelry they just stole from down the street. Officer Dozey deftly leaps from his vehicle and orders the boys to stop and turn around. While turning, both boys place their hands in their pockets. Dozey frisks them, finding a necklace, a large sum of money, and some drugs. He does not find a weapon.

Evaluate the following statement: The evidence Officer Dozey found on the boys must be excluded as evidence in a trial against them because the “stop & frisk” violated their Fourth Amendment rights.

Choice 1 TRUE, because a frisk is permissible only to search for a weapon and no weapon was found.
Choice 2 FALSE, because Dozey overheard discussion of a recent crime which justifies the stop, and the boys put their hands in the pockets which justifies the frisk.
Officer Peddy has been engaged in a foot chase of a suspected rapist for several minutes. Peddy is in good shape, and at no time has the suspect been more than one-half block ahead. After turning a corner onto a residential street, Peddy realizes that the suspect must have entered one of the doorways, as he is nowhere to be seen. Which of the following is a list of the options from which Peddy may legally choose:
Choice 1 Officer Peddy can wait for backup to arrive and they may enter without a warrant, or must call a judge to get a warrant if he plans to enter alone.
Choice 2 Officer Peddy must call a judge to get a warrant whether he waits and enters with backup or enters alone.
Choice 3 Officer Peddy may enter alone without a warrant, and may wait for backup and enter with them without a warrant if backup arrives promptly.
Choice 4 Officer Peddy may enter alone without a warrant, and may wait for backup and enter with them without a warrant no matter how long it takes backup to arrive.
Officer Trint Westwood is a tough-guy cop looking to get guns off the street. Working off an informant tip, he tracks down Simon, who he suspects is carrying illegal long-barrel rifles in his car on his way to sell them this afternoon. He searches the main compartment of the vehicle and the trunk, finding only a film canister under the driver’s seat. Opening the film canister reveals some marijuana, which Westwood seizes. He arrests Simon mumbling something about “at least he’ll be off the street for a few hours.” Can the marijuana be used as evidence against Simon?
Choice 1 Yes, because Westwood had reasonable cause to search the vehicle based on the informant’s tip.
Choice 2 Yes, because Simon had no reasonable expectation to privacy in the contents of his automobile.
Choice 3 No, because a long-barrel rifle could not fit into a film canister.
Choice 4 No, because some other evidence is always required before acting on an informant’s tip.
Charles Jones is arrested for excessive speeding in the desert one night. When Officer Courir arrests him he searches the area under the driver’s seat and finds an Acme Explosives box which contains an Acme Stun Gun, one of the more dangerous stun guns on the market, if not one of the more difficult models to use without risk of injury to the operator. He then searches the trunk in which he finds an Acme Rocket Launcher. Which evidence will be excluded at trial?
Choice 1 Neither the Stun Gun nor the Rocket Launcher will be excluded.
Choice 2 Both the Stun Gun and the Rocket Launcher will be excluded.
Choice 3 The Stun Gun will be excluded, but the Rocket Launcher will not be excluded.
Choice 4 The Rocket Launcher will be excluded, but the Stun Gun will not be excluded.
Strolling through the neighborhood one night Officer N. Chalant is knocking on doors asking people if he can come in to look around a bit. At 11:30 p.m. he knocks on the door to 2120 East 53rd Street and a woman in a negligee answers. He asks if he can come in and look around a bit, explaining that he’s looking for evidence of a recent neighborhood burglary. “Well I’m not sure I can let you in, Officer,” she replies. “It would be a great help, ma’am, and I’ll be in and out before you know it,” Officer Chalant said. “Well, alright, I guess.” Once inside, Officer Chalant notices an expensive painting which he knows was stolen during the burglary. He arrests the woman and seizes the painting. As it turns out, the woman was merely house-sitting. Was the search proper?
Choice 1 Yes, because she gave consent.
Choice 2 Yes, because she gave consent and Officer Chalant had reason to believe she had authority to consent.
Choice 3 Yes, because she was not a suspect and until someone is a suspect the Fourth Amendment does not apply.
Choice 4 Yes, because Officer Chalant was asking the same question of everybody who answered their door that night and did not single her out.

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