Individual Project - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... concerned in the given circumstances is entitled to similar protection against

unreasonable searches. It must, however, be established whether the search was

"unreasonable" within the meaning of law. Under the United States Constitution's Fourth

Amendment:

"... except in certain carefully defined classes of cases, a search of private property without proper consent is "unreasonable" unless it has been authorized by a valid search-warrant."4

Courts in the US have upheld searches without a search warrant under the following

situations:
the person searched consents; or
the search is limited and is incident to a lawful arrest; or
there is "probable cause" to justify a search but the exigent circumstances make it necessary or reasonable to proceed with the search without first obtaining a warrant; or
the police are in hot pursuit chasing a suspect who attempts to hide from them; or
the police merely stop and "frisk" the person, based on a reasonable belief that the person is armed and presently dangerous.

The burden of justifying a search without a warrant lies on the government (Coolidge v.

New Hampshire5). In the above situation, the search falls within the ambit of carefully

defined classes. First, the person complies with the police officer's move to search. Next,

since the locality was a high crime neighborhood, it is reasonable for the police to search

the person based on his suspicious movements. Finally, the search was limited and led to

a lawful arrest as the person was found possessing illegal substance. Under the US

constitutional law, the police cannot justify a search by what it produces nor can an arrest

be justified by the fruit of an illegal search. The legality of the search is based of...
The officer reached into the car and touched a bugle in the passenger's pocket. He felt a large, hard object, which he believed to be rocks of crack cocaine. He then removed a plastic bag from the pocket. It contained several rocks of crack cocaine that, together with another rock found in the passenger's clothing, totaled almost 100 grams. The passenger was arrested, but the driver and women standing outside it were not.
On a routine patrol, and officer noticed a parked car. Two people were inside, and they were in a high crime area a bar that was known for gang activity. In the past, the officer had responded to calls from the bar for everything from murder to public intoxication. The officer testified that he stopped to see if the individuals were committing a crime, lived in the area, or had some other concern. When the officer pulled behind the car and illuminated the car with his spotlight, he observed the passenger's fumbling with something on the floorboard. As the officer was checking for indication, he noticed a bullet on top of the console of the car. The officer had the individual step out of the car to ensure that they did not have any weapons after frisking them for weapons, the officer looked in the area where he observed the passenger fumbling with something to see if he was hiding a gun. ...Download file to see next pagesRead More