Kanovitz: Manual site for Constitutional Law, 13th Edition
Chapter 04: Search and Seizure
Multiple Choice
1. Police are allowed to perform brief, limited searches for investigation when they have
reasonable suspicion that the property is connected to criminal activity. This authority
stems from which Supreme Court decision?
a. Miller v. California
b. Terry v. Ohio
c. Mapp v. Ohio
d. none of the above
2. The following activity would be considered a search under the Fourth Amendment:
a. observing a suspect’s activities from the street
b. bugging a suspect’s motel room
c. making a Terry stop
d. asking neighbors if they have noticed anything suspicious about the suspect
3. The Fourth Amendment includes the following in its list of constitutionally protected
subjects:
a. effects
b. papers
c. houses
d. all of the above
4. A search warrant’s description of the place to be search defines the permissible _____
of the search:
a. scope
b. intensity
c. duration
d. none of the above
5. In order to secure a search warrant, an officer must possess facts sufficient to warrant
a person of reasonable caution in believing which of the following:
a. a crime has been (or is being) committed
b. specific objects associated with the crime exist
c. objects included in the warrant will be found in the place to be searched
d. all of the above
6. In Chimel v. California, the Supreme Court ruled that the following was
unconstitutional:
a. searching an arrestee’s entire home after his arrest without a warrant
b. searching an arrestee’s purse without a warrant
c. searching the front seat of an arrestee’s car without a warrant
d. none of the above
7. The Chimel decision established which test?
a. probable cause
b. immediate control
c. exigent circumstances
d. hot pursuit
8. When an arrestees arrested in places other than their homes have their impounded
belongings searched, the following is one of the goals:
a. secure the arrestee’s valuables
b. protect the police department against false claims of loss
c. search for weapons
d. both a & b
9. In the example “A Mid–Summer’s Nightmare,” Officer Weird overstepped the
boundaries of a Terry vehicular weapons search when he:
a. inspected the trunk
b. picked up fliers off the floorboard and put them in his pocket
c. opened Mary’s purse
d. both a & c
10. The criminal defendant’s remedy for police violations of his or her constitutional
rights is:
a. a grand jury hearing
b. exclusion of evidence
c. exigent circumstances exception
d. all of the above
11. Mapp v. Ohio made what apply to the states:
a. implied consent
b. Terry searches
c. exclusionary rule
d. exigent circumstances
12. For incriminating evidence to be considered in “open view”:
a. the officer must be lawfully present at the location where the observation is made.
b. the officer must make the observation by accident, rather than by design.
c. the officer must have reasonable suspicion that the object is connected to criminal
activity.
d. All of the above.
13. When the purpose for conducting a search is to obtain evidence of a crime, the Fourth
Amendment always requires the officer to:
a. possess a reasonable certainty that the search will turn up criminal evidence.
b. obtain a search warrant whenever time permits.
c. confine search activity to looking for the objects for which the officer has search
authority.
d. comply with all of these requirements.
14. Which of the following police activities constitutes a search within the meaning of the
Fourth Amendment?
a. Eavesdropping on a conversation in an adjoining hotel room by pressing their ears
against the wall.
b. Climbing over a fence and entering an open field to explore for marijuana plants.
c. Looking inside the glove compartment of an unattended vehicle parked on a public
street.
d. All of the above.
15. Sally York, who was a passenger on the same flight as Mary Wanna, accidentally
picked up Mary Wanna’s suitcase, thinking it was her own. She opened it up when
she got home, saw a firearm resting on top of bundles of $100 bills, immediately
closed the suitcase, took it to police headquarters, and told Detective Jacobs what she
had seen. Detective Jacobs reopened the suitcase, took out and examined the firearm
and money, and then removed the lining, under which he found a bag containing 20
grams of cocaine. Mary has been prosecuted for possession of an unregistered
firearm, possession of cocaine, and trafficking in drugs. She has moved to suppress
the evidence, claiming that her Fourth Amendment rights were violated. Which of the
following acts constituted a search within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment?
a. Sally York’s act of opening Mary Wanna’s suitcase and examining the contents.
b. Detective Jacobs’ act of opening of Mary Wanna’s suitcase and re-examining the
contents.
c. Detective Jacobs’ act of removing the suitcase lining.
d. All of the above acts.
16. Police do not need a search warrant or probable cause to believe that a search will
turn up evidence in order to search:
4-4
a. abandoned property.
b. an open field.
c. the person of the arrestee after making a lawful arrest.
d. Any of the above.
17. Which of the following individuals can give a valid consent to search the suspect’s
apartment?
a. The suspect’s landlord.
b. The suspect’s live-in girlfriend.
c. The apartment building maintenance man.
d. None of the above.
18. In which of the following situations do police have authority to inspect the contents of
Sticky-Fingered Sam’s wallet?
a. Police lawfully detain Sam for investigation, based on reasonable suspicion of
possessing a stolen credit card.
b. Police issue Sam a traffic citation.
c. Police lawfully arrest Sam for DUI.
d. In all of the above situations.
19. Which of the following is always required to seize an object for use as evidence?
a. The object must constitute the fruits, instrumentalities, or other evidence of crime
or contraband.
b. A search warrant describing the object.
c. A statute making possession of the object a crime.
d. All of the above.
20. Which of the following is always necessary to justify a plain view seizure?
a. The officer must be on the premises searching under a search warrant when the
discovery is made.
b. The officer must acquire probable cause to believe that the object is associated
with a crime without exceeding the lawful boundaries of his or her search
authority.
c. The discovery must occur by accident.
d. All three conditions are necessary.
21. Police have the authority to search the trunk of a motor vehicle without a warrant
whenever:
a. The motorist consents.
b. Police have a reasonable suspicion that a motorist lawfully detained for
investigation might have a weapon in the trunk.
4-5
c. Police lawfully arrest the motorist.
d. In all of the above situations.
True/ False
22. Search and seizure is covered under the Fifth Amendment.
a. True
b. False
23. A search occurs when police interfere with a suspect’s possessory rights in property.
a. True
b. False
24. Katz v. United States marked the beginning of modern Fourth Amendment
jurisprudence.
a. True
b. False
25. Searches and seizures of abandoned property violate the Fourth Amendment.
a. True
b. False
26. Police do not have an automatic authority to perform a search whenever they make an
arrest.
a. True
b. False